In District 12
by SabreDae
Summary: Whilst Katniss and Peeta fight for their lives in the Games; Gale, Prim and her Mother are all forced to watch. How will they react to the events unfolding on the screens. What do they think about the Capitol, the Games, Peeta, the other Tributes and Katniss and Peeta's victory...
1. In The Woods

**A/N: So…I presume you were intrigued by my summary and that's why you're here. If so, hopefully the story will be just as good as you expect. This first chapter is in Gale's POV, but other chapters will feature Prim and her Mother. I had intended to write this whole story before I started uploading it, but I've already been away from the site for ages and really wanted to put something up. I hope you'll bear with me if I get behind schedule with my writing. **

**Anyway, I hope you like this and I'd love to know what you think, so leave a review if you've got time. **

**Disclaimer: I am not Suzanne Collins and therefore own nothing.**

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**In The Woods**

I woke up early as I always did. The fact that it was reaping day had little bearing on the matter. Katniss and I usually got up before the rest of District 12 so we could head to the woods and hunt to feed our families. Across the room I could see the rest of my family slumbering on, Rory and Vick side by side on a blanket on the floor, and Posey sharing the only bed with Mother. For them the horror of reaping day was yet to come.

Every year it was a dreadful experience. Katniss and I had signed up for tesserae so many times that the odds were never in our favour. Somehow I had managed to avoid being reaped for five years years, Katniss escaping it for three; but that day I couldn't escape the pressing feeling that it would be worse, so much worse.

Pushing aside the foreboding thoughts, I slid out of bed and picked my way across the room, avoiding the floorboards I knew creaked when I put my weight on them. I didn't want to wake my family, so I waited until I was out of the room we used as a bedroom before slipping my feet into my hunting boots and gathering my things into a game bag. I took one last look at my sleeping family, smiling slightly as Posey wriggled until she was wrapped inside Mother's arms, and then I left the house.

Walking through the Seam, I could tell that I was the only one awake. The reaping didn't start till the afternoon though, so people often tried to sleep longer and escape it for a few more precious hours. The feeling of merely waiting for it to begin was the worst thing imaginable. I stopped off at the bakery though, and found Mr Mellark already at work. He offered me a good loaf of bread for a squirrel, one I still had in my game bag from the previous hunt.

It was barely any time at all before I was standing in front of the fence. I knew the electricity running it wasn't switched on, so I ducked between part of the fence where two of the barbs had been stretched outwards. It was still awkward pulling my body through and I could feel one of the barbs pulling on my jacket. I imagined that being broad in the chest and over six feet tall would come in handy with the hard work I would have to do in the mines, if I escaped the Games; but it didn't help me clamber through the District 12 boarder fence.

Once I was in the trees though, I began to loosen up. I would be seeing Katniss – she could always cheer me up. We always laughed and joked about the Games, and Effie Trinket, of course. Laughing and joking about it was the only way to cope and deal with the situation the districts of Panem found themselves in.

The woods always provided an opportunity to escape the oppression of District 12 and the Seam.

I made my way to the special place I shared with Katniss and Katniss alone and sat down on the rock ledge, looking out over the valley. It wasn't long before Katniss joined me. She looked completely normal with her straight black hair and grey eyes, the ones I'd come to depend on to keep me sane. The stress in her face alleviated as she sat down beside me on the ledge.

"Hey, Catnip," I said, using the nickname of ours. When we first met she'd been so shy and had whispered her name. Truthfully, I had thought Catnip was her name. "Look what I shot." I held up the loaf of bread from the Mellark bakery, and show her the arrow I stabbed through it.

She laughed, the sound as pleasant as running water, and took it from me. A look of hunger passed through her eyes as she removed the arrow and inhaled the wafting goodness coming from the puncture hole.

"Mmm, still warm," she murmured appreciatively. "What did it cost you?"

"Just a squirrel, think the old man was feeling sentimental this morning. Even wished me luck," I told her.

"Well, we all feel a little closer today, don't we?" Katniss replied, reminding me after a brief lapse that it is the day of the reaping. I nodded, beginning to feel my good mood ebbing away. "Prim left us a cheese."

I smiled, trying to get rid of the atmosphere hanging over us at the thought of the reaping. "Thank you, Prim. We'll have a real feast."

Katniss nodded and took the cheese from her own game bag to show me.

"I almost forgot!" I declared, doing my best Capitol accent. "Happy Hunger Games!" The sentiment was probably the worst possible. The Hunger Games were never an enjoyable experience. Even if you escaped being chosen or having a family member in the Games, you still had to watch. The Games were mandatory viewing. Pushing the thoughts aside, I resumed my jokey manner and tugged a handful of blackberries from the bush beside me. "And may the odds-"

"-Be ever in your favour," Katniss finished, swallowing the berry I'd tossed her.

Grinning at the antics, I ate a few berries myself and then pulled a knife from my pack to slice the bread. I then spread the goat's cheese over the bread whilst Katniss plucked more berries for our meagre breakfast. Still, it was more than most had.

After eating, I found myself looking out over the woods again, taking in how they seemed to go on forever. Anyone would find it hard to survive in the endless expanse. But Katniss and I could do it, I knew that.

"We could do it, you know," I mumbled, not really realising I'd spoken out loud

"What?" Katniss asked, breaking into my thoughts.

"Leave the district. Run off. Live in the woods. You and I, we could make it," I answered, revealing exactly what I'd been contemplating so seriously. Of course, I knew it was also virtually impossible. Both Katniss and I had things to tie us down. "If we didn't have so many kids," I added when Katniss said nothing.

"I never want to have kids," she said sullenly.

Children have almost become depressing. No-one wanted to condemn a child to the life we've suffered through. But in spite of that, I knew that I wanted to have children one day.

"I might. If I didn't live here."

"But you do," Katniss snapped.

"Forget it," I replied just as irritably. It was only wishful thinking. I could never leave District 12, not without Katniss anyway. Living in District 12, however, was dangerous, hard and often, quite frankly, resulted in death. As the primary industry is coal mining, I would have to join the mines. Both my father and Katniss' had died in a mine explosion just as many other good men had before them. It was a fate that possibly awaited me. If you didn't work in the mines, though, there wasn't much else a person from the Seam could do. The wealthier people owned and ran businesses like the Mellark's Bakery. Greasy Sae was probably one of the only Seam folk to run a business. Food was always hard to come by and with sparse medical care, disease ran free. Luckily for me, I was best friends with the daughter of a healer.

Katniss finally dragged me out of my thoughts by asking what I wanted to do.

"Let's fish at the lake. We can leave our poles and gather in the woods. Get something nice for tonight," I answered, standing and leading the way to the lake.

We did well, catching a dozen fish and gathering a bag of greens and some strawberries. We stopped off at the Hob on the way home, trading some of the fish for bread and salt and some of the greens for paraffin. The strawberries we sold to the Mayor, though his daughter, Madge, was the one who opened the back door and dealt with us. She was already dressed for the reaping, not that it mattered. She never had a real chance of being reaped.

"Pretty dress," I said, thinking about how no-one I else I knew would ever be able to afford such an expensive thing.

She shot me a look, trying to determine if I was being honest.

"Well, if I end up going to the Capitol, I want to look nice, don't I?"

"You won't be going to the Capitol," I told her emotionlessly, before beginning to get angry. It wasn't fair how just because she was rich, she had fewer entries in the reaping ball. "What can you have? Five entries? I had six when I was just twelve years old."

"That's not her fault," Katniss pointed out.

"No, it's no-one's fault. Just the way it is," I replied, my voice filled with bitterness.

Katniss said her goodbyes and we headed back to the Seam in silence before going our separate ways to get ready for the reaping.

"See you in the square," she said.

"Wear something pretty," I muttered, turning down another street and going home.

**A/N: I realise that all the speech in this chapter is verbatim with the first chapter of the Hunger Games, but I want to keep it as close as possible to the events from the book. When I get further into the story, things will obviously begin to differ because we don't see what's going on in District 12 whilst Katniss is in the Games. **

**Anyway, let me know what you thought! I'd also really appreciate you telling what kind of format you'd like this to follow in the next chapter. I've so far written the next four, doing chapters by events (the next chapter is the reaping) with each character I'm including having a POV on that event, but I realise changing POVs mid-chapter could be confusing. So please let me know if you'd rather I separated each chapter into three - one for each person's POV - or just keep them together but signpost who's POV it is. (I hope that made sense.)  
**

**Much love, SabreDae**

**xxxxxxxxxxx**


	2. Preparations

******A/N: Thanks so much to LittleMissJasperWhitlock, dovepatronus, TheHungerGamesFan01 and the anonymous reviewer for reviewing! You guys are the best. This chapter contains Katniss' mother's POV. I'd be really grateful for any comments you may have, so please leave a review if you have time.**

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**Preparations**

By the time Katniss returned from her hunt and trade, I'd almost finished helping Prim get ready for her first reaping. Katniss had been in three reapings before, but it didn't make the experience any easier. I was always just as panicked as the first time. Sending your child to their possible death would never get any easier.

My hands shook as I pulled out the skirt and ruffled blouse for Primrose to wear and pinned it to her. She was so small then, too small and young to be entered into the reaping. Once I had helped Prim, I poured a tub of warm water for Katniss. She always looked like she'd rolled through ten puddles when she came back from hunting.

Katniss strolled through the door with dirt on her trouser legs and all over her face. Whilst she scrubbed off, I sorted through her game bag, finding bread, salt and fish and already began thinking about how to cook it. I was sure that I had some seasoning left over from the hog she'd managed to catch us a month ago. The fish and greens I put into a stew and left to simmer it on the hob. It was bubbling away when I heard a noise behind me.

I turned to find that Katniss standing in the doorway with the blue dress I had laid out for her. At sixteen she no longer needed my help getting ready. She'd been caring for herself for so many years. But I still felt the need to do things for her, so I had gathered the dress and matching shoes and laid them on her bed.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Of course," I replied. There was no use in me having it and not wearing it. It reminded me of Katniss and Prim's father too much for me to ever wear it. "Let's put your hair up too." Grabbing a towel, I dried off her dark hair and began twining it into a braid. The braid was something my own mother had taught me, and though I didn't do it very often, my fingers still remembered what to do.

"You look beautiful," Prim murmured from the doorway once I was done.

"And nothing like myself," Katniss responded after a quick glance in the mirror. She pulled her younger sister into a hug and as they drew apart, both Katniss and I saw Prim's shirt had come untucked again at the back. I started forward, only to find Katniss beat me to it. "Tuck your tail in, little duck," she said, pushing the material back underneath the skirt and leaving me to wonder when exactly my daughter had taken my place as head of the family and begun mothering Prim.

"Quack," Prim giggled, smiling adoringly at Katniss.

"Quack yourself. Come on, let's eat."

The three of us ate the bread made from tesserae grain in silence. There simply wasn't anything to be said. But the silence only made the time pass quicker.

All too soon it was one o'clock and we left the house, making our way to the square. We had no other choice. The only time you could escape attending the reaping was if you were seriously ill. In times gone by, that wasn't the case. District 12's Peacekeepers had become much more sympathetic in recent years, however. Cray in particular, though disliked for his soliciting prostitution of the district, was oft thought of as a softy. He was one of Katniss and Gale's customers, and despite it being against the laws of Panem, he never punished them for hunting in the woods beyond the district. The Peacekeepers always stood guard around the edge of the square, guns slung over their shoulders in case the need to prevent trouble ever arose.

In front of them, the families of those in the reaping, those of us who were too old or too young, gathered. Without Prim at my side, I felt lonelier than ever before. Whenever I'd faced a reaping before, she'd always been with me. That year both my children were standing in the centre of the square, grouped by age. Katniss was somewhere near the front. I could just make out her braid, but she wasn't quite as noticeable as Gale, who towered over the other boys around him. But Prim was lost to me, standing at the back of the square with the other twelve year old girls.

Hazelle appeared next to me and took my hand, offering me her support. Two of her boys, Rory and Gale, were in the reaping. It was Gale's last reaping, but anything could happen. With over 40 slips of paper in the reaping ball, his luck could run out.

I trained my eyes on the stage temporarily standing in front of the Justice Building, where the Mayor and Effie Trinket were sat, an empty seat where District 12's only surviving Victor was supposed to be. At two o'clock, as the town clock's bells faded, Mayor Undersee stepped forward and began to speak, saying the same thing he said every year. Before him, Mayor Bridge had said the same thing. I had a vague recollection of Mayor Impson also using the same speech during my own reaping years.

As the speech drew to a close, Haymitch Abernathy, our victor stumbled drunkenly on stage and fell into his chair, reeling. The crowd clapped for him, but any other time his entrance would have been perhaps comical. Instead, we politely applauded, wishing more than anything that things could be different.

The reaping continued to follow the set pattern. Effie Trinket stepped forward, looking ridiculous in a pink wig and a luminous green suit.

"Happy Hunger Games!" she exclaimed. With people from the Capitol that was always the way. To them the Games were purely entertainment. They didn't experience the horror of watching friends and family die on live television. "And may the odds be _ever _in your favour!"

After a few minutes of her nattering away about what an honour it was to be in District 12, a blatant lie since District 12 had always been the most neglected district; she turned to the reaping balls and prepared to delve her hand inside.

"Ladies first!"

My heart stopped.

Dramatically, she clutched a slip of paper between her overly-long fake finger nails, drawing it out of the glass ball with an air of exaggerated elegance. The crowd seemed to gasp as she unfurled it, waiting for her to read out the name of the unlucky girl who would be taken to the Capitol to fight for her life.

In my head, a mantra formed. _Not Prim. Not Katniss. Not Prim. Not Katniss. _Over and over, it repeated until Effie Trinket crossed back to the podium to speak into the microphone.

My breath caught in my throat. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. It couldn't be true. It couldn't. It just couldn't. I heard the people around me groan quietly and mutter, "That poor girl."

"She's too young," I breathed, feeling everyone's eyes on me, pity dominating their expressions. "It's not fair; it's just not fair."

In the square, people began moving, letting Prim walk all the way from the back up to the stage. My heart beat erratically, just as I knew Prim's would be. I knew she would be terrified, the simple act of putting one foot in front of another taking all she had.

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**A/N: I hope you liked it. Let me know what you thought!**


	3. The Reaping

**A/N: Thanks go to Aod4L and WizardChick4Eva for reviewing. I hope you guys like this chapter - let me know what you think!  
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**The Reaping**

******Prim's POV**  


I stared as everyone turned to look at me. It was my name. They'd pulled my name out of the reaping ball. I was barely aware of moving, but I could see Effie Trinket searching for me, calling out, "Where is Primrose Everdeen?" And all of a sudden the crowd parted, creating a path for me to walk to the stage.

My breath came in shuddering gasps as I did my best to keep the fear from showing on my face. I was afraid. Of course I was afraid. I would be one of the youngest tributes. I had no chance of surviving. I wasn't like Katniss. I didn't go hunting and I couldn't use a bow and arrow. I couldn't use a knife. I wasn't tough. I wasn't a survivor.

Effie Trinket smiled at me encouragingly but it didn't make me feel any better. I still wanted to turn on my heel and run a mile.

Whispers continued to ripple through the crowd, the families standing at the edge of the square looking uncomfortable as I walked, focusing on putting one foot in front of the other. It became harder and harder to walk, as though I was regressing back to a stage of my development when all I could do was sit or crawl. I clenched my fists in determination and carried on.

I became aware of someone shouting.

"Prim!" I knew it was Katniss but I kept going. "Prim!" she called again.

The audience gasped and I knew she was running after me. Before I quite knew what was happening, she'd caught up to me just as I was about to put one foot on the first of the steps up to the stage and swept me behind her.

"I volunteer!" she gasped. "I volunteer as tribute!" The second time her voice was much louder, carrying some form of authority like she wouldn't let them refuse her the opportunity to take my place in the Hunger Games.

"No," I whispered. Katniss couldn't go. We couldn't lose Katniss. Without Katniss we'd have nothing to eat. What if Mother fell into her depression again whilst she was gone? Could I treat her? I knew enough about what she self-medicated, but what if she got worse? What would I do? I wouldn't have anyone to help, it would be just the two of us. Just because I was Katniss' crutch didn't mean I didn't need her too.

"Lovely!" Effie Trinket said into the microphone. "But I believe there's a small matter of introducing the reaping winner and then asking for volunteers, and if one does come forth, then we, um…"

"What does it matter?" Mayor Undersee asked when Effie Trinket trailed off. "What does it matter? Let her come forward." Everyone would rather see Katniss, someone with a real chance in the Games; than a twelve year old like me.

But I knew the odds would still be stacked against Katniss. She would be one of twenty four children, all fighting for the chance to survive. The career districts of one, two and four were always the favourites.

All of a sudden I was screaming and had my arms wrapped around Katniss.

"No, Katniss! No! You can't go!"

"Prim, let go," she said forcefully, trying to tug my arms off. "Let go!"

And then I was airborne, Gale's strong hands and arms lifting me away and carrying me off towards Mother after a simple, "Up you go, Catnip." But he was distraught too though trying not to show it.

Tears began streaming down my face as Katniss climbed the steps.

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**Katniss' Mother's POV**

I watched Prim, my youngest child, reach the stage, struggling to hold back tears.

"Prim!" someone in the centre of the square shouted. It could only have been Katniss. "Prim!"

When she reached Prim at the stage's steps, she stepped in front of her. I didn't know how much more my heart could take.

"I volunteer! I volunteer as tribute!" she announced.

And in that moment, I knew I would never feel as guilty as I did then. Because I was relieved that Katniss would be going into the Games and not Prim. I didn't want either of my children to be tributes, but if it had to be one of them, it was better that it was Katniss, wasn't it? Katniss was strong, she was determined and most of all, she knew how to survive. She was a fighter, she always had been. Prim wasn't like that. Prim was the gentle sister, the loving sister who cared for everyone and everything. Prim would never have been able to kill someone.

My heart broke as Katniss tried to fight Prim off, only managing to make it onto the stage when Gale removed Prim from her back and carried her to me. The instant her feet touched the ground, Prim flung herself into my arms, desperate cries wracking her body. I was unable to stop my own tears as I clung to her, my remaining daughter.

"Well, bravo!" Effie Trinket said appraisingly. "That's the spirit of the games!" But no-one else celebrated Katniss becoming the district tribute. Everyone knew who she was and why she'd volunteered. "What's your name?"

"Katniss Everdeen."

Hazelle shot me a look as she hugged Gale. He gave his brother Vick and sister Posey fleeting hugs and then returned to the centre of the square before a Peacekeeper came to drag him back.

"I bet my buttons that was your sister. Don't want her to steal all the glory, do we? Come on, everybody! Let's give a big round of applause to our newest tribute!" Effie Trinket exclaimed.

No-one moved. No-one clapped. No-one cheered. My hand shook as I touched the three middle fingers of my left hand to my lips. Looking directly at the stage, Hazelle copied me. Even Vick and Posey imitated the gesture, though they probably didn't know what it meant. Slowly, the sign of respect spread through the crowd until the whole square was looking straight at Katniss and everyone was holding out the three fingers of their left hand to her.

Haymitch Abernathy stumbled to his feet and slung an arm across Katniss' shoulders. "Look at her," Haymitch slurred, breaking the tension. "Look at this one! I like her! Lots of…spunk! More than you! More than you!" Unsurprisingly, he then fell from the stage and knocked himself out.

The audience was silent as he was stretchered away. Nobody knew if he was talking to the audience in the square or the audience in the Capitol, but he was right. Katniss was the bravest person I knew, certainly the bravest of District 12.

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**Gale's POV**

My heart sank as Prim's name was called. I wasn't particularly close to her, but Katniss was. And I knew Katniss would be distraught that Prim was a tribute. My eyes sought her out, locking onto her as she began to forge a path through the other children.

I saw her reach Prim and dart in front of her. I wasn't surprised when she declared that she was volunteering to be District 12's female tribute. If Rory's name was pulled out, I didn't think I'd be able to refrain from taking his place.

The whole square was silent. Prim's hysterical screams echoed off the buildings surrounding us. Seeing Katniss struggling to dislodge her grip, I started forward and took Prim by the waist, lifting her upwards and off Katniss. I had to swallow past the lump in my throat in order to speak.

"Up you go, Catnip." My voice wobbled, but at least I hadn't cried.

I could hear Effie Trinket talking as I carried Prim through the crowd, searching for her mother and trying to find some way to comfort her. I soon spotted Mrs Everdeen in the crowd, her hands covering her mouth and her eyes shining. My own mother was stood beside her. She locked eyes with me the moment I lowered Prim to the ground and pulled me into a rough hug. From the corner of my eye I could see Prim was similarly ensconced in Mrs Everdeen's arms, the two of them crying over Katniss' fate.

Before a Peacekeeper could come to take me back, I released Mother, embraced Vick and Posey and then returned to my spot in the centre of the square.

"I bet my buttons that was your sister. Don't want her to steal all the glory, do we? Come on, everybody! Let's give a big round of applause to our newest tribute!" Effie Trinket exclaimed.

I grimaced and made damn sure to keep my arms at my sides. Only, as I looked around, making sure no-one else was playing along with the Capitol's game and celebrating the demise of my best friend, I saw they were in fact silently rebelling. All around the outside of the square people were pressing three of their fingers to their lips and then raising them to Katniss in a symbol of respect practically as old as time. My own hand moved and soon the rest of us, the girls who had escaped being reaped and the boys who still had the chance, were offering Katniss thanks and saying goodbye.

Haymitch staggered across to Katniss, drunk as ever, and gave his inebriated thoughts on Katniss. He had to be stretchered away.

Trying to recover, for the events were being recorded and would be broadcast across the whole of Panem, Effie Trinket exclaimed, "What an exciting day! But more excitement to come! It's time to choose our boy tribute!" As she crossed the stage to the second reaping ball and reached in to snatch a slip of paper, I found myself wishing that she would draw out my name. I wanted to go to protect Katniss, to make sure she came back to her family. But it was a stupid thing to wish for. I _couldn't_ go, my family needed me. I was the breadwinner, the one who brought the food by hunting and getting the tesserae.

"Peeta Mellark!" Effie Trinket announced in that ever-happy tone of hers. I'd be lying if I said my heart hadn't sunk.

The blonde boy, the baker's son, I vaguely recalled, stepped forward and climbed the stage.

Effie Trinket asked for volunteers, but no-one came forward to take his place. Not even me.


	4. HeartBreaking

**Heart-breaking**

**Katniss' Mother's POV  
**

Katniss was escorted offstage and into the Justice Building, forcing Prim and I to wait until the crowd in the square had dissipated before we could be allowed in to see her.

"You get ten minutes," the Peacekeeper guarding the door said, turning the handle and admitting us into the room.

She was sat on one of the chairs, a velvet couch far fancier than anything she'd ever had the pleasure of sitting on before. Even if I hadn't married her father, a poor miner from the Seam, and had married into a wealthier merchant family like my parents wanted me to, it would still have been a luxury we'd never have been able to afford.

Prim instantly ran to Katniss, climbing onto her lap and throwing her arms around Katniss' neck. It was what she had always done when she was a toddler, to me and Katniss. And just like back then, I sat down beside them and wrapped my arms around the two of them.

After a few moments of precious silence she launched into a series of instructions.

"Listen to me," she said, holding more authority than her years should have given her. "Prim, I don't want you to take any tesserae. If you're both careful you shouldn't need it. You have Lady, sell the milk and cheese and carry on the apothecary business. If you need herbs, just ask Gale. He can get them for you from the woods, like I used to, but he's not familiar with them like I am or Dad was, so describe them carefully. Gale will bring you game at least once a week, so you don't have to worry about food. Perhaps pay him with medicine or milk." Katniss continued to tell us what to do to survive, not really focusing on either one of us in particular. It was odd to be reminded again that in our family Katniss was the strong one, the one who we turned to to make the decisions; not me. But I found it hard to listen. Hearing what she was telling us, I knew the hidden meaning. She was telling us how to survive because she couldn't do it for us anymore.

She thought she wouldn't come back.

I wanted more than anything to dredge up some hope for her, to tell her that she was my baby and it would all be okay. But how could I? It would be a lie. Despite her skills, her talent with a bow and arrow, she wouldn't be able to defeat the career tributes. Hardly anybody ever did. And even, if by some mad chance, she did win and return to District 12, she wouldn't be the same person. Surviving the Hunger Games changed everybody. If Katniss became the victor, she'd also have become a murderer. And that wasn't something that could be easily lived with.

So I worried for Katniss, but I also worried for Prim. I had no idea how she would cope with losing Katniss. They were just so close. If the mayor's wife was anything to go by, it wasn't good. When Maysilee died in the games, she just lost it. Nobody ever saw her because she spent her days lying in bed in a darkened room, most likely maddened and plagued by visions of her sister's death. We'd all seen it. Losing a friend like that had been tough for me, but I knew it had to be so much worse when you lost your sister. All I knew was that it would be heart-breaking for Prim and me.

Then all of a sudden, Katniss was speaking to me and gripping my arm. "Listen to me. Are you listening to me?"

I nodded, taken aback by how abruptly the atmosphere had changed. Katniss had started off talking unemotionally, trying to hold it together, but now looked me unblinkingly in the eye, with a tight hold on my arm and spoke with such strength.

"You can't leave again."

I was unable to hold her gaze. "I know," I mumbled. There was nothing I felt guiltier about than my illness. When her father had died, I was depressed. Getting out of bed was too much of an effort. I was locked up in myself – I forgot all about my daughters, the daughters that had needed me. I didn't know if Katniss would ever forgive me for that. "I won't," I promised. "I couldn't help what –"

She didn't allow me to finish.

"Well, you have to help it this time. You can't clock out now and leave Prim on her own. There's no me now to keep you both alive. It doesn't matter what happens. Whatever you see on the screen, you have to promise me you'll fight through it!"

"I was ill. I could have treated myself if I had the medicine I have now." I wasn't being defensive. It was simply the truth. And if I'd had the medicine, we wouldn't have even been having the conversation – Katniss wouldn't be the one we depended on for what felt like everything and she wouldn't be worrying about Prim and I, when the person she should be worrying about was herself.

"Then take it. And take care of her!"

I nodded, swearing to myself that I would keep the promise no matter what it took.

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**Prim's POV**

After Gale dragged me away from Katniss, everything was a blur. Suddenly, I was inside the Justice Building, a Peacekeeper leading us inside and to the room they're using for Katniss' goodbyes.

The instant the door was opened, I was running and flinging myself into Katniss arms. The thought that she'd soon be gone was heart-breaking.

When Katniss gave us instructions on what to do now that she wouldn't be there to hunt for us or get us tesserae grain, it went over my head. I hoped the Mother was listening because I was too busy sniffling into Katniss' shoulder. It just wasn't fair. It wasn't right that Katniss should have to go and be a part of the Hunger Games.

Before I knew it, Katniss had finished her advice and was sternly telling Mother to take care of me. But I was twelve, not four.

"I'll be alright, Katniss," I told her. I didn't want her to be worrying about me when she was in the games. When she was in the Arena she had to concentrate on herself. "But you have to take care, too. You're so fast and brave. Maybe you can win."

I truly believed that she had a chance. District 12 had never seen a stronger, more determined tribute.

"Maybe," Katniss said doubtfully. "Then we'd be as rich as Haymitch."

"I don't care if we're rich." What did I care for money when, as long as Katniss came home, we'd have everything we ever needed. "I just want you to come home. You will try, won't you? Really, really try?"

She nodded. "Really, really try." Katniss always kept her word, and suddenly, against all odds, I felt hopeful.

* * *

**Gale's POV**

Finally I was allowed in to see Katniss. I'd been waiting with the Peacekeepers for ages, but of course, they let in Katniss' family first. I wasn't quite sure why Mr Mellark and Madge were allowed in before her best friend, but who was I to complain. They lived in the Merchant part of District 12. I was just a lowly kid from the Seam.

The second I was through the door, I spread my arms wide, wanting nothing more than to hold Katniss for at least a few moments. She threw herself into my arms without hesitation, surprising me somewhat given that Katniss was never an emotional, touchy-feely person. Circumstances changed, I guessed.

The scent of her soft detergent and the natural aroma of ivy that always surrounded her filled my nose and I couldn't help but squeeze her tighter. She fitted perfectly into my body, her head resting over my heart, standing at just the right height for my arms to wrap around her shoulders. Being so close to her, I had to work to keep my heartbeat steady. I didn't know when it started, but I'd been attracted to Katniss for a long time now. She wasn't just my best friend, she was the girl I'd fallen in love with, the girl I wanted to marry and the girl I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. But now it looked like I might not get the chance.

I fought to keep my emotions in check. If I was upset, then it would only make it ten times worse for Katniss. But she had to win, she had to come back. I didn't think I'd be able to bear life in District 12 without her.

My heart ached to hold her and not let go, my lips were open in readiness to reveal what was really in my heart and head, but that wasn't what came from my mouth.

"Listen," I said. "Getting a knife should be pretty easy, but you've got to get your hands on a bow. That's your best chance."

"They don't always have bows," she countered.

"Then make one. Even a weak bow is better than no bow at all," I replied, beginning to feel desperate.

"I don't even know if there'll be wood." She seemed determined to view things as negatively as possible.

"There's almost always some wood," I told her. "Since that year half of them died of cold. Not much entertainment in that."

"Yes, there's usually some," she admitted.

"Katniss, it's just hunting. You're the best hunter I know." The truth was grim, setting my mouth into a thin line.

"It's not just hunting. They're armed. They think." I didn't like it any more than she did, however. But I wanted her to come home more than anything, even if that meant regarding her fellow competitors as prey.

"So do you. And you've had more practice. Real practice. You know how to kill."

"Not people."

"How different can it be, really?"

She looked at me, knowing that, of course, people and animals were as different as the sun and the moon. In the back of my head, I couldn't help but think if she hunted them, what would it make her?

The door opened and our time was up.

"Please, just five more minutes," I begged. But the Peacekeepers entering the room to escort me out grabbed my arm and began to drag me out.

"Don't let them starve!" Katniss yelled.

I knew her inside and out. I knew her mind. I knew she asking me to look after her family.

"I won't! You know I won't!" I shouted back, digging in my heels and trying to throw off the Peacekeepers' grip. "Katniss, remember I-"

The door swung shut and I found myself outside the room again. "-Love you," I finished in a whisper. I could only hope she knew.

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**A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Leave a review if you've got time. **

**Much love, SabreDae  
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	5. Fire in her Eyes

**A/N: Thanks again go to everyone who has reviewed and/or added this story to their alerts and favourites. It really means a lot guys!  
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**Fire in her Eyes**

**Prim's POV  
**

That first night without Katniss was horrid. Sitting in the sitting room, waiting for the mandatory viewing of the other reapings, it was obvious that something was missing. Her absence was as tangible as a taste in my mouth. Normally, she'd be sat at my side, her arm around my shoulders, trying to make light of the situation with a joke or two. But this time, it was her we had to watch volunteer in my place and step onto the stage. And instead of having her strong arm around me, it was my mother who pulled me into her side and hugged me close.

The dinner we had set aside for celebration of avoiding being tributes, sat untouched on one of the kitchen surfaces. Mother and I couldn't bear the thought of eating the meal that Katniss had gotten us. The worry for Katniss as we saw the other tributes, the burly boy from District 11, the fierce career tributes, was too strong to allow that.

The day of the Opening Ceremony the rest of the district gathered back in the square to watch on the big screen. Gale and his family were there, whilst Mother and I, as relatives, were excused to watch in the privacy of our own home. Before the tributes were revealed, there was a recap of the reapings, with Caesar Flickerman and Claudius Templesmith beginning to build files on each of the tributes and discuss their odds. Claudius then left to announce the arrivals of the tributes in their chariots.

Every year some of the costumes were elaborate, though it was usually those of districts 1, 2 and 4. District 1 in particular was usually the best dressed, often covered in diamanté patterns and able to wear any colour and any material because their prime industry was luxury and jewels. This year was no different. We watched almost emotionlessly as Glimmer and Marvel, the District 1 tributes, kicked things off, swiftly followed by the Cato and Clove dressed as Gladiators from District 2. Finally, the District 11 tributes were announced and Thresh, the hulking, dark-skinned boy I'd seen in the reapings and a girl who couldn't be any older than me rode out. I found myself almost eager to see Katniss, forgetting that seeing her in her chariot meant she was one step closer to competing in the games.

I was shocked as Claudius Templesmith's voice boomed out from the television.

"And please welcome the tributes from District 12!"

I barely recognised Katniss, as the chariot emerged bearing two people wearing black with a halo of fire surrounding their head and a spurt of flames trailing behind them from a cape. She and Peeta Mellark, they were on fire. The fire lit up their entire bodies. On the close up shots, it was even possible to see the reflection of the flames in their eyes as they smiled and waved, always holding hands. And suddenly I had hope for Katniss. She was brave, she was strong, she was smart and she knew how to use weapons and defend herself; but most importantly, because of her costume, she was memorable.

* * *

**Katniss' Mother's POV**

Days later and Katniss' instructions still rang in my head.

"_You can't leave!" _

"_Fight through it!" _

So I took my medicine, I carried on as normal feeling more mechanical than human as I cooked dinner and lunch every day. Hearing her voice in my head was the only reminder that I was still human. It crippled me with worry. I felt guilty for that first night when Prim and I hadn't eaten dinner. Already, I had disappointed her. Every time they showed footage of Katniss, I could see her judging me.

Prim and I watched the footage everyday like we were supposed to, but it wasn't until the chariot rides that I began to feel myself.

When the Chariot bearing Katniss and her fellow District 12 tribute, Peeta Mellark, rode out, I couldn't help but smile. The stylists knew what they were doing. They were giving Katniss and Peeta a chance, a better chance than District 12 had had for many years. I couldn't help but admire them, Cinna and Portia. The Capitol audience were going crazy for our tributes, but all I could think of was the stylists, though I couldn't understand why they'd kept her hair in the braid I had done the morning of the reaping. It wasn't extravagant like the hairstyles of District 1; it was simple and plain. It was a mother's handiwork.

"Some excellent work by new stylists, Cinna and Portia," Caesar said, continuing his commentary on the ceremony. "But it's the two memorable tributes from District 12, Katniss Everdeen – who you may remember volunteered in place of her sister – and Peeta Mellark that we're all interested in. These two will certainly be ones to watch. I for one am excited to see what they will bring to the Games, these two tributes who are so proudly holding hands. Look at them. They're so defiant. It's almost like they're saying, 'Here we are. Look at us. We're the tributes from District 12 and we won't be forgotten.'"

And as the cameras did a close-up on Katniss and Peeta, it was easy to see what Caesar was saying. Both of them stared ahead, their eyes intense and fiery, completely unafraid of the flames encompassing them. They did look defiant, but in my heart I knew they were defying the Games themselves, not causing the audience to re-evaluate their opinion of District 12.

For the first time since the reaping, I stopped to think about Peeta Mellark. I knew who he was, of course. He was a Mellark, the son of the baker who had once courted me when we were younger. I couldn't help but feel for him, the young sixteen year old who looked just as his father did at that age. Broad shouldered, blonde and sweet-faced. He deserved to be in the Hunger Games no more than Katniss did. But it was hard to pity him when he was going to be one of Katniss' competitors. In the Hunger Games, there were no friends, only enemies. Only one would make it out, and I wanted that person more than anything to be Katniss.

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**Gale's POV**

I was in the square like everyone else. I couldn't help looking around and remembering the reaping. In the back of my mind, I could hear Prim's cries and my own shouts that I'd just managed to keep quiet. At the same time, the thought of seeing Katniss again – even if it was only on a television – excited me somewhat. My heart pounded in anticipation, but I was reluctant to look at the screen. My mother, who stood beside me for support, squeezed my hand, reminding me that I had to watch, it was compulsory viewing. The early chariots were no surprise. Districts 1, 2 and 4 were the best dressed and each of the six tributes looked as dangerous as Capitol muttations.

But the District 12 chariot took my breath away. I'd ben half hoping for and half dreading that the stylists would choose to make the tributes go naked again, but seeing Katniss cast in the warm glow of flames that seemed to lick her hair and back was much better. It was like the stylists had taken one look at her and designed her costume around her personality. I couldn't help but feel distaste for them though. They were still dressing her for slaughter.

My eyes were fixated on the images of Katniss on the screen. The chariot was just like all the others, except for its two occupants held hands. It was a first. Tributes, even from the same district, were never that united. For a minute, I wondered what they were playing at. Surely it would only turn people in the Capitol against them. It was like they'd broken an unwritten rule, but then Caesar Flickerman started commenting again, focusing on the joined hands of Katniss and the baker's boy.

My chest flooded with relief. The Capitol crowds were going nuts for it. A strange smile settled over my features. They liked her, they actually liked her. In the back of my mind, I questioned how I'd ever thought they wouldn't. I was barely aware of moving, but suddenly, I was pushing back through the crowd and running out of the square, my breath coming in great huffs as I sprinted. The Everdeen's front door banged against the wall as I pushed it open.

"Have you seen?" I tried to ask, barely able to get the words out because I was so short of breath.

Prim turned to me with wide eyes, nodding excitedly.

"She can do it. She's going to do it!" I told them, so confident in my best friend.

"Do you really think so?" Prim asked.

I picked her up off the couch and whirled her around. "I _know_ so." Prim beamed and threw her tiny arms around my neck. And then I was hugging her back, laughing at her antics. Prim had always been Katniss' adorable little sister. I could still remember the day Katniss had tried to teach her to hunt. All I'd done was snigger as Prim sniffled and begged Katniss to let her take the injured deer they'd shot home for treatment. I'd known her as long as I'd known Katniss, but she'd always be a little girl to me. I thought of her as my own sister.

The TV was still showing footage of the District 12 tributes.

"Why don't you sit down, Gale? You look like you've run a mile," Mrs Everdeen said politely, eyeing my red face with concern. After being best friends with her daughter for four years, we knew each other well. Whilst her reaction to chariot rides wasn't as exuberant as mine or Prim's; I had seen in her eyes that she was just as pleased.

I set Prim down on her feet and followed her around the couch, dropping into a seat beside her. It was a squeeze with all three of us on the couch, but we were too absorbed on our tributes to really notice. The crowd literally went mental as Katniss blew a kiss into the audience.

Instead of looking at Katniss, I found my eyes drawn to the Mellark boy. Peeta, I thought that was his name. He was vaguely familiar – I'd seen him around school but we weren't the same age so I'd never even spoken to him. I knew him best simply as the baker's son. I probably saw him most often at the bakery when I was trading with his father. In fact, I'd seen him that morning; the morning of the reaping. He'd been in the back of the shop with the cakes, whilst his father handed me the loaf of bread over the counter and took one of our squirrels. I still felt the burning ache inside my chest as I wished that I had been chosen as District 12's male tribute instead of Peeta. I would have protected her, but I knew Peeta wouldn't.

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**A/N: I hope you liked this chapter! Leave a review if you've got time.  
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**Much love, SabreDae  
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**xxxxxxx  
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	6. Competition

**A/N: This chapter is entirely Gale's POV. I hope you like it! (I've made up a name for Katniss' mother in this chapter - let me know what you think about it. It was the first thing that came into my head but I'm more than willing to change it if you can come up with something better.)  
**

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**Competition**

**Gale's POV  
**

It was a full week before I saw Katniss again. She was in training, the only part of the Games that was never televised, and I found myself almost suffering Katniss withdrawal symptoms. I suddenly regretted not focusing on her more during the chariot rides. I still remembered the look on her face as she rode out, how her excited smile had gradually built until she was positively beaming and actually enjoying the crowd shouting her name. I wondered how she could do that, but I guessed it was different when you were actually in the Games. It may not have seemed like it, but she was already fighting for her life just not in the way you first expect.

Apart from a brief showing of the training scores, where we only got to see Katniss' photo as they flashed her score of eleven, I was without her. Just hunting in the woods early the following morning without her was enough to make me miserable for the rest of the day.

Finally though, after days of going to school and trying to get back into a routine, the evening of the interviews arrived. Mrs Everdeen had invited me over to watch with her and Prim, most likely knowing that I'd find standing in the square too much. The three of us tried to avoid the place as much as possible, but inviting me into their home instead meant that Katniss' family had to lie. Only the families of tributes were allowed to watch the early stages of the games in their homes. And with the cameramen constantly lurking around Katniss' house and talking to people about her to make footage for either her death or her victory celebrations, I would have been discovered soon enough. So I became Katniss' cousin. We're so similar in appearance anyway, like most Seam kids, that I can pass it off.

"Hey, Gale," Prim said to me as I opened the door, feeling odd not knocking. Behind me walked Vick and Rory, Mother carrying Posey on her hip.

I smiled and nodded at her, feeling nervous already.

Mrs Everdeen appeared then; carrying a tray of food included some bread made from tesserae grain and the leftovers of my last hunt, the rabbit transformed into something delicious-looking.

"Mrs Everdeen," I greeted.

"Please, Gale, call me Dahlia – we're family after all," she added cheerfully.

"Dahlia, thanks for having us round." I gestured to my family stood behind me, rolling my eyes at Rory and Vick already arguing. I stepped between them and hauled Rory into my arms, barely feeling his weight. Despite the extra food Katniss and I have provided for our families, my siblings still look underfed. With Rory tucked under one arm, I steered Vick towards the television and placed my youngest brother on the floor beside him.

"Sit," I told them, pointing towards the floor in front of the TV.

Prim was already sat on the couch, though there was room for at least two more people to sit beside her, and an armchair for a forth person. I took the armchair and left the couch for Prim, Dahlia and my own mother. Posey sat in front of me, leaning back against my legs.

The Capitol seal appeared and the national anthem played. It was starting.

The first interviews slipped by me. I barely saw the girl in the see-through gold dress, Glimmer. I paid no attention to the male tributes from Districts 1 and 2, even though they would most likely be the people Katniss really had to contend with. I was restless waiting for Caesar to hurry through the first 22 interviews and reach Katniss, my knee jiggling the entire time. I'd already seen Katniss sat at the back of the stage, waiting, looking breath-taking in a dress that makes it look like she's stood inside a single flame and she was all I could think about.

When she finally stood and made her way to the centre of the stage where Caesar waited, my heart literally stopped. As she moved, the dress seemed to move exactly like a flame, like she was made of real fire. The Capitol audience were equally astounded. Prim squealed slightly and leant forwards, trying to be as humanly close to the TV as possible, as close to Katniss.

"So, Katniss, the Capitol must be quite a change from District 12. What's impressed you most?" Caesar asked, kick-starting the interview.

Katniss glanced nervously at the camera and then looked away and into the audience.

"The lamb stew," she replied after a moment's hesitation. Caesar and the audience began to laugh and even Dahlia had a vague smile.

"The one with the dried plums?"

Katniss nodded eagerly. I could only imagine what it must have tasted like.

"Oh, I eat it by the bucketful!" Caesar exclaimed before turning sideways. "It doesn't show does it?" The audience reassured him that he still looks perfect, but personally I always found his ever-changing hair colour and lack of aging freaky. "Now, Katniss, when you came out in the opening ceremonies, my heart actually stopped. What did you think of that costume?"

"You mean after I got over my fear of being alive?" Katniss asked, shocking me with her jesting. She was always so serious.

Rory and Vick roared with laughter and Prim's tinkling laugh wasn't far behind in joining them. Katniss is doing better than I'd hoped.

"Yes. Start then," Caesar said, enjoying interviewing her as much as the audience enjoyed watching it.

"I thought Cinna was brilliant and it was the most gorgeous costume I'd ever seen and I couldn't believe I was wearing it. I can't believe I'm wearing this either! I mean look at it!"

The audience oohed and ahed as she twirled, the flames engulfing her again.

"Don't stop!" Caesar said, probably echoing the thoughts of the audience.

"I have to, I'm dizzy!" Katniss giggled. She was almost high off the energy of the crowd. I couldn't remember a time when I'd seen her so care-free and easy. I could tell Dahlia was thinking the same thing as me, her eyes were dissecting everything Katniss was doing.

"Don't worry, I've got you," Caesar tells her, wrapping a sturdy arm around her shoulders. "Can't have you following in your mentor's footsteps."

Raucous laughter filled the studio as the television shows Haymitch good-naturedly taking the joke.

"It's all right. She's safe with me. So, how about that training score. E-le-vin." For the first time I stopped to wonder about her score. Hardly anybody has ever scored so highly in the history of the games. Usually tributes get between five and eight. I naturally assumed that Katniss must have impressed the Gamemakers with her archery skills – I knew I'd have given her full marks for it. "Give us a hint what happened in there."

She looked up towards the balcony where the Gamemakers sat. "Um…all I can say is, I think it was a first."

I couldn't help but be curious. She looked almost nervous, chewing on her lip. In contrast the Gamemakers are chuckling, as if sharing a private joke. I resolved to ask Katniss what happened as soon as I saw her, forgetting of course that there should have been a big _if _in that thought.

"You're killing us," Caesar said. "Details. Details."

"I'm not supposed to talk about it, right?"

"She's not!" One of the Gamemakers shouted, the television captions then identifying him as Plutarch Havensbee.

"Thank you. Sorry, my lips are sealed."

"Let's go back, then, to the moment they called your sister's name at the reaping," Caesar replied, moving on from the taboo topic. "And you volunteered. Can you tell us about her?"

I shot a glance at Prim, studying her face for a few moments as Katniss slowly answered the question. "Her name's Prim. She's just twelve. And I love her more than anything."

I felt awful about it, but I couldn't help the fact that hearing those words made my heart drop. Of course Katniss would love her sister more than me, I tried to tell myself, but it still hurt.

"What did she say to you? After the reaping?"

"She asked me to try really hard to win," Katniss almost whispered.

"And what did you say?" Caesar asked, prompting her as though he knew the answer.

"I swore I would."

Even through the television, I could feel the atmosphere in the studio.

"I bet you did," Caesar replied, seeing her inner strength. The buzzer sounded, breaking the icy, tense atmosphere and Caesar spoke once more. "Sorry, we're out of time. Best of luck, Katniss Everdeen, tribute from District Twelve."

"She's doing so well," Prim practically shrieked.

Her mother nodded and kissed her forehead. Somehow seeing the two of them alone still doesn't look right though. They're not complete without Katniss. The two blonde haired women look odd without the tall, thin, dark-haired girl who always stood between them.

The audience clapped and clapped for Katniss, still applauding her when Peeta was announced and took centre-stage.

The moment Peeta began speaking; he had the audience eating out of the palm of his hand. He made joke after joke, but I was bored. Already I missed Katniss. I wanted her to get given Peeta's fifteen minute slot – only seeing for fifteen minutes wasn't enough.

"Doesn't he go to school with you?" Posey asked, tugging on my trouser leg, and forcing me to turn my attention to Peeta again and actually listen to his interview.

I nodded absentmindedly at her.

"And what about girls? Is there a girlfriend?" Caesar asked.

Peeta shook his head, seeming shy and unsure, his eyes darting from side to side. I cast my memory back, wondering if I'd ever seen Peeta with a girl, but the only times I remember seeing him are when he was in the bakery with his father whilst we traded.

"Handsome lad like you. There must be a special girl," Caesar insisted. "Come on, what's her name?"

"Well, there is this one girl," Peeta said eventually. He gave a puppy-dog smile as he admitted, "I've had a crush on her ever since I can remember. But I'm pretty sure she didn't know I was alive until the reaping."

The crowd sympathised with him.

And suddenly Caesar was like a gossiping mother. "She have another fellow?"

"I don't know, but a lot of boys like her."

I tried to think of all the popular girls at school, but none stand out. I only ever noticed Katniss. The only person who jumped to mind was Madge, but surely even the mayor's daughter was out of the reach of a baker's son.

"So, here's what you do. You win, you go home. She can't turn you down then, eh?" Caesar encouraged.

"I don't think it's going to work out," Peeta replied forlornly. "Winning won't help in my case."

"Why ever not?" Caesar asked, and just then I knew – I don't know how, but I did – I knew what Peeta was going to say.

His face turned cherry red and he stammered. Yep, I knew I was right. "Because…because…she came here with me."

Despite predicting it, his revelation still shocked me. I couldn't help the rush of jealousy either. I thought I was the only one who liked Katniss – Peeta and Katniss weren't even friends. But it shouldn't have surprised me, should it? If I loved Katniss, why wouldn't someone else? She was compassionate, confident, feisty…she was just Katniss. And that was why I loved her.

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**A/N: Thanks go to dove patronus, WizardChick4Eva, Pika-Thunder, Norbert's Mom, Aod4L, Rhine499 and MazinmoeHey for reviewing! **  
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	7. On the Edge

**A/N: Hey guys, sorry for not updating over the weekend - I had work. :( And I was even busier than usual since I had to work the bank holiday yesterday too. Anyway, thanks so much to those of you who have been reviewing! I hope you'll all like this chapter!  
**

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**On the Edge**

**Prim's POV**

We sat in stunned silence. Peeta loved Katniss?

All of us tried to glance covertly at Gale, expecting to see his eyes on fire with anger, and were surprised to see him meet our gazes with a half-smile.

"What?" he demanded.

"Nothing," Vick replied just a second too quickly, turning back to the TV to see Caesar wrapping up Peeta's interview. Every now and again the cameras would cut to Katniss, her cheeks still tinged with embarrassment.

"No, seriously, what?" He looked at each of us in turn, his eyes daring us to answer.

Finally, Rory mumbled, "But don't you like Katniss too?"

We waited for his reaction with bated breath.

"Is it that obvious?" Gale finally asked, looking a little nervous as he took a few stabilising breaths. "You don't think Katniss knows, do you?"

He looked at Mother and me, but it was Hazelle who tactfully said, "Gale, the only thing that matters is whether you want her to know."

When the Capitol seal played and the tributes left, Gale and his family stood to return to their own house. Posey was fast asleep and had to be carried in Gale's arms.

"Well," Mother said. "That was a shock."

I nodded. As far as I knew, Katniss and Peeta had never even spoken to one another. It was easy to see why Katniss and Gale were so close, but Katniss and Peeta? I couldn't imagine them being a couple in a million years.

But there they were: their faces the final picture of the broadcast with the words 'The Star-Crossed Lovers of District 12'.

We watched the blank screen for a moment before it registered that the programme had finished airing and mother stood to turn off the television. I followed her to the bedroom and took the bed Katniss normally shared with me. The sheets were too cold without her body beside mine to keep me warm and I was left to snuggle up with Buttercup instead. Nerves kept me awake long into the night. My heart twisted and jumped at the thought that the Games would be starting the next morning but eventually, without even realising it, sleep pulled me under.

Waking up, I was met with a moment of blissful relief where I had forgotten about what was coming and I thought Katniss' absence in the bed beside me meant she had gone hunting. As soon as I saw her boots, creased from use, still sat beside the door, the reality of what the day was came crashing down around me.

Looking across at the other bed, I saw that Mother too was gone. Frowning, I pushed myself off the thin mattress, hurried to change into some clothes and left the bedroom.

"Mother?" I called, looking around the kitchen where there were stacks of dirtied bowls, pans, knives, spoons and plates.

"Oh, Prim," she said, popping up from behind one of the cupboards, stirring what looked like cake mix in a bowl. "I just finished baking a loaf of bread, can you get it out of the oven?"

I did as asked and pulled out the warm loaf, noticing that one of the surfaces already bore butter, likely freshly made using Lady's milk. I knew from experience how long it took to make the cream let alone churn the cream into butter. How long had Mother been up? Searching her eyes, I wondered how I had first missed the dark circles under them. My eyes surveyed the rest of her – her apron stained by various fresh splatters of food, her hair swept untidly into a bun and beads of sweat coating her forehead – she didn't look good. She looked like she was going to lose whatever sanity she had left any second.

I was grateful when Gale walked through the door, laughing at something Posey had said. They provided a distraction, something else for my mother to focus on rather than manically continuing to cook. She fussed over Hazelle's three young children, slicing them bread and buttering it too.

Gale shot me a look and mouthed, "Is she okay?"

I shrugged. What could I say?

I grabbed a slice of bread for myself and slipped past Gale, where he had paused in the doorstep at the sight of my mother. Lady bleated as I stopped before her and tore a piece of the bread off for her. Since it was daylight and the dangers of foxes during the night were over, I untied the piece of rope which kept her under the shed which Katniss had helped me build beside the house and allowed her to roam the garden. The sparse grass we had would do her good.

"Katniss is going in today," I murmured to my goat. She couldn't say anything back but it felt good to say it somebody. "I hope she survives."

"Prim," Gale called suddenly, sticking his head out the front door. "It's starting."

I nodded and watched him duck back into the house. I still needed a few minutes alone. I scuffed my shoe on the ground, sighing. If something went wrong, I didn't want to have to watch my sister die. Before I knew it Gale was back. He squatted in front of me, squeezed my hand and then walked with me to the house, lending me support. He didn't want to see it any more than I did.

The television was already on, the presenters recapping on the previous days' interviews whilst they waited for the tributes to be ready to enter the arena.

They came in district order, rising through the ground to stand on metal plates in a circle surrounding the cornucopia. As the camera panned around the circle, starting with Marvel and Glimmer and finishing with Katniss and Peeta, I spot a bow and a collection of arrows. Every so often, the camera flashed back to the favourites of the competition, the tributes with the highest training scores. I was on the edge of my seat, waiting for the required sixty second wait to be over. I couldn't imagine how much more nerve-wracking it would be to be in Katniss' shoes. Everywhere she looked she would see people who were desperate to kill her.

When the gong rang, chaos broke out. The tributes sprang from their plates and it was impossible to tell who was who. I had no idea where Katniss was, but the camera sprang from person to person, sometimes showing a fleeing tribute, sometimes showing a few embroiled in a fight or worst of all, showing one lying on the ground.

Finally, when the fighting was over, the commentators took a moment to recap the fates of each tribute. Of course, District 1 and 2 still had all of their tributes and had banded together as the career tributes usually did. I was disgusted by their celebrations as they crowed over the eleven tributes they had managed to wipe out in the bloodbath. In their group they had Marvel, Glimmer, Cato, Clove, the girl from District 4, the boy from District 3 and surprisingly Peeta. Peeta sat nursing a cut arm, battered face and an injured leg, both results of fighting in the bloodbath and trying to win a place in the career group. The boy from District 3 also tried to ignore the crows of victory the other tributes were making, getting to work on setting traps around the cornucopia, the place they had chosen as their base.

When they finally got to talk about our district's tributes, it was to dissect Peeta's strategy and show Katniss striding through the forest, looking at ease amongst the trees. A great weight lifted off my shoulders at the sight of her alive and well.

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**Dahlia's POV**

Every time I thought about Peeta's admission, I couldn't help but think of the irony of it all. I believed him when he said he loved Katniss, you could see the truth of it in his eyes, in the flush of heat across his cheeks and in the posture of his body.

But I could tell, just from the way she refused to look at the camera that Katniss hadn't known about Peeta's feelings. I knew her brain would be trying to make sense of it. She worked so logically that she would probably think Peeta was making it up because how could you love someone you didn't know. Katniss never had been someone who relied on her emotions. Sometimes I worried that I'd failed her in that respect, that I'd not taught her what it was to love and love unconditionally. That I hadn't told her it was okay to let your emotions rule you.

I ached to be with her, to help her and support her but she was in the Capitol and I was stuck in District 12.

Weary and worried, I stood and turned the television off. Prim followed me into the bedroom though I hadn't told her it was time for her to go to bed. The moment my head touched the pillow, I was out of bed again. I was sure Katniss wouldn't be sleeping, so why how could I?

Sighing, I got up and left the room, not wanting to disturb Prim's sleep.

I didn't both turning the lights on. The moonlight streaming through the uncovered kitchen window was enough to see by. I wondered what Katniss was doing if she wasn't sleeping. Was she looking at the sky? From District 12 it didn't look a view to savour on what could be the last night of your life. The stars were hidden in cloud, the moon full but dimmer than usual.

I thought of all the things she'd miss. I thought of things she would never do. And I couldn't stop my composure from slipping. The simple thought that I might never see my daughter celebrate her eighteenth birthday was too much.

I left the house before my sobs became too loud only to wake up Lady.

"Come here, you silly goat."

Once I started milking her, I forgot about everything else. Maybe that was the key. I was sure that if I kept busy, I wouldn't have time to dwell on the situation and lose it again. Because even if I failed at everything else; I had to keep my promise. I had to keep it together long enough to look after Prim.

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**A/N: Let me know what you think!**

**Much love, SabreDae  
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	8. Wildfire

**A/N: Thanks go to Aod4L, Norbert's Mom, dovepatronus, Pika-Thunder, blue287, Rhine499 and WizardChick4Eva for reviewing the previous chapter. I hope you like this chapter.  
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**Wildfire**

**Gale's POV**

Katniss was doing well, but all of us could see that she needed water. Trekking through the forest, her mouth gaped as she tried to gather more oxygen. Her cheeks were cherry red with exhaustion. I knew that she was dehydrated from just looking.

"What's Haymitch playing at? He should send her some water," I muttered.

"Maybe there haven't been enough sponsors," someone – I didn't look to see who – replied.

I almost laughed, actually laughed. Katniss and Peeta were the most popular tributes there'd been in years. They were all the commentators were talking about and they certainly got more screen time than any of the other tributes. Of course, they'd have sponsors. They were the newest fad in the Capitol. The presenters had spent the first ten minutes of the programme showing footage of Capitol citizens having their hair styled exactly like Katniss, buying reproductions of their chariot ride costumes and talking about 'the star-crossed lovers of district 12'. It sickened me.

"Maybe he knows she'll find it eventually," Prim suggested. "Katniss can do anything once she puts her mind to it."

That was true. I couldn't help agreeing with that.

And it turned out Prim was right. The screen switched from Katniss hiking to a digital map showing the locations of all the tributes. Katniss wasn't far from water at all. A pond was marked on the map millimetres away from her position. But the career tributes weren't far behind her either.

When Katniss finally reached the pond, we saw it on the television. Her hands shook as she filled her flask and added iodine to purify it.

Peeta meanwhile was trying to lead the career tributes away from Katniss, it seemed.

"No, guys, you're not listening to me. Haymitch told Katniss to stay in the edge of the forest, close to the cornucopia. That's well she'll be. There's no way she'd have travelled this far into the forest – she has no idea what to do in the forest."

Cato appraised him doubtfully.

"Marvel?"

"She looked pretty at home when she took off from the cornucopia," the District 1 tribute remarked.

"Why are we stopping?" Clove moaned. "Let's just keep going."

"Yeah, I thought you said you could track her, Cato."

"I am tracking her, Glimmer," Cato snapped.

"You're not listening to me!" Peeta interrupted. "I know Katniss; she'd have done exactly what Haymitch told her to."

"Shut up, Lover Boy!" Marina, the girl from District 4, said.

You could see from the panicked expression on Peeta's face that he was lying. I thought he should just fight off the career pack – he looked strong enough – and then find Katniss. If he wanted to protect her like the commentator's speculated; that would be the best way.

"Come on," Cato muttered, taking control over the situation and walking ahead. "Let's just kill her so we can get back to Buzz."

Buzz was the District 3 tribute still alive, the boy they left the prime minefields around the cornucopia and guard their supplies.

Marvel, Clove and the other girls followed after the Cato, the chosen leader, leaving Peeta chewing his lip and deliberating over what to do. In the end he moved off after them. Weak. He was too weak and cowardly to be a man and do the right thing. I wouldn't have allied with them in the first place. It was obvious even without hearing how they talked about him and Katniss behind his back that they were only using him to find her. As soon as they'd killed Katniss, they'd kill him too.

It was probably a good job, Peeta stayed with the careers. With the absence of deaths, the Gamemakers sent a wildfire to spice things up. Luckily Katniss was awake in an instant and running. But I still used my hands to cover Posey's young eyes.

Dahlia breathed a large sigh of relief across the room and I couldn't help but join her, though she looked worried when Katniss vomited all of the food and water she'd managed to eat onto the ground.

"She needs to get away from the smoke," she mumbled, but nobody really heard her.

But we were pre-emptive in celebrating Katniss' escape. We all saw the fireball glance Katniss' leg, setting it alight. A collective wince of sympathy spread through the room, Katniss' screams blaring through the television speakers and echoing in my ears. I gritted my teeth, forcing myself to watch. I had to know if she was going to be okay.

My arms longed to reach for her when the cameras showed her shaking, flitting between the image of her broken on the ground and the approaching career tributes. Whilst they seemed to have escaped injury, Katniss had a severely burnt leg and blistered hands from pulling the scorched fabric of her pants off her leg. I couldn't even imagine the strength it must have taken to get to her feet and move away from the fire.

The smoke was so thick in places, the only reason we still saw Katniss was because she was limping along.

Somehow, dredging the strength and determination from someone, she managed to reach a pool of water and plunged her hands into, blessed relief spreading over her face for a moment.

"Thank God!" Prim said.

"She still needs treatment for her leg," Dahlia replied with a shake of her head.

"That's what the sponsors are for. Haymitch'll get her what she needs," Vick pointed out.

"Oh no, oh no!" Prim squealed, looking at the careers getting ever closer to where Katniss had decided to dose off before covering her eyes with her hands.

"Wake up, Katniss!" Rory yelled uselessly at the Everdeen's television. Though it seemed to work. Hearing the stomps of six pairs of boots, Katniss sprang to life, moving surprisingly well considering her injured leg. She scurried up a tree, getting about six metres off the ground by the time they'd found her.

"How's everything with you?" she shouts to them, grinning because she knows they can't get to her.

"Well enough," Cato replied. "Yourself?" He didn't seem to understand that Katniss had to be at least thirty pounds lighter than him and just happened to be the best tree-climber I knew.

"It's been a bit warm for my taste. The air's better up here. Why don't you come on up?"

Everyone else looked at Katniss like she was crazy, but I knew her game. I understood what she was doing.

"Think I will," Cato told her, as oblivious of her plan as Prim and my mother.

Even Peeta didn't seem to realise Katniss' advantage, glancing nervously at her and Cato as Glimmer tried to hand him the bow and arrow that were probably meant for Katniss.

"Here take this, Cato."

Katniss glowered down at her and I knew that the bow and arrows should have been hers.

Cato pushed away the silver bow. He wanted to use his sword.

With a grunt, he threw himself at the tree, grappling with branches and hauling himself upwards with great effort. In contrast, Katniss scurried upwards, seeming to barely use her hands and feet.

After a minute or so, Cato's weight became too much for a branch to bear and it broke away from the tree's trunk, sending him falling towards the ground. A satisfied grin took over my face, echoing the one on Katniss' face. Glimmer tried next, but she too was too heavy. In frustration she shot an arrow, her aim hopelessly off.

Below the tree, the careers debated what to do. It was hard hearing them argue over how they were going to kill my best friend.

"Oh, let her stay up there. It's not like she's going anywhere. We'll deal with her in the morning," Peeta cut in. I ground my teeth in anger.

As the careers settled down for the night, Katniss prepared her own bed. But she didn't stay in it for long enough to sleep. Instead she unzipped her sleeping bag and climbed up the tree. As an audience member, I had no idea what she was doing. It was dark and I could barely see her, let alone anything else.

"Is that a trackerjacker nest?" one of the commentators asked.

"I think it is," the other answered.

"Trackerjackers? What's a trackerjacker?" Posey questioned, looking between my mother and me.

I let mother explain, to desperate to find out what the hell Katniss was doing.

The Capitol anthem played, Katniss began sawing at a branch.

"She's going to drop the trackerjackers on them!" Rory exclaimed. "Awesome! I bet their heads swell up and everything!" Mother swatted the back of his head and reminded him that violence wasn't to be admired, that we were to feel sorry for the people unfortunate enough to be reaped into the Games. I didn't complain, but a small voice inside my head raised the point that the career tributes weren't unfortunate; they wanted to be in the Games, they volunteered to go. They deserved a horrible death for the horrid deaths they'd already inflicted on the tributes forced into the Games. I could still hear the screams of the girl from District 8 they'd butchered the first night.

When Katniss returned to her sleeping bag, unable to fully cut the branch from the tree before the anthem faded away, the gift from her sponsors had finally arrived. The lines of pain and tension on her face eased as she slathered a coat of medicine over the burn on her leg and applied some to her hands before climbing into bed.

The screen switched to the career tributes below her, still awake and plotting, organising watches. Once they are sleeping, it changed again the girl from District 5, Finch, showing her sneaking into the career's camp again and snatching a few items whilst Buzz had nodded off. After her it showed Thresh in the long grass on the other side of the lake by the cornucopia. He was still awake with a fire, preparing his own bed. Next in the viewing line was Rue, sitting in one of the trees near Katniss and keeping a close eye on the trackerjacker nest. Once all the tributes had been shown, the programme ended for the night: no-one wanted to watch people sleeping. It was boring. But I would have gladly watched Katniss sleep that night.

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**A/N: So what did you think? Let me know. ;)**

**Thanks so much for reading.  
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**Much love, SabreDae  
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	9. Rue

**A/N: Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed that last chapter! Amazing response, you guys! I'm really chuffed. I hope you like this chapter!  
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**Rue**

**Dahlia's POV**

When morning dawned, I found I had slept the entire night, knowing that for the time being Katniss was safe. The viewing started at nine like it had the previous day, opening with Katniss and the career tributes. That was where all the drama was. A quick recap of the previous day's events was playing when Gale and his family arrived, bringing with them a casserole for lunch.

"Prim not up yet?" Vick asked, searching about the room for her. I began to wonder if Katniss was the only one with an admirer.

I shook my head and left to wake her. "Prim," I coaxed, sitting beside her on the bed and pushing her hair off her face.

She groaned, blearily looking up at me.

"Mother?"

I nodded.

"Are you feeling better today?"

"Yes, Prim, I'm feeling much better." It wasn't a complete lie. I was still taking my medication and a reasonable night's sleep had done wonders for me. But I still couldn't quite squash the debilitating worry that filled me every time I thought about Katniss competing in the Games. "Come on, or you'll miss Katniss."

I left her to dress and emerged from the bedroom just in time to watch Katniss finally manage to finish sawing through the branch holding the trackerjacker nest. Her mouth twisted with pain and I knew she had been stung. But the large majority of the creatures were still inside the nest that was hurtling its way down to the sleeping careers.

Rory and Vick high-fived and yelled excitedly.

Prim rushed out of the bedroom.

"What did I miss?" she demanded, looking between Gale, Hazelle and me.

She watched the television screen though as the nest hit the ground, bursting open and spewing forth hordes of trackerjackers. They were everywhere.

I was barely aware of the girl from District 1 staggering about before collapsing to the ground. I only watched Katniss, who took up the right hand side of the screen, shimmying down the tree and making her way to the pool she had washed her burns in the previous night. The places she was stung, her knee, her cheek, her neck, had already swelled and poisonous-looking mucus spilled out of them.

I had no idea what she was doing when she clumsily got to her feet and stumbled back to the clearing she had released the insects in.

Posey gasped at the sight of Glimmer's body. Rory, so full of bravado for one so young, turned and retched, though thankfully nothing came up. Without thinking, I went to the kitchen and filled a few glasses with water, handing them around. Rory and Vick gratefully took theirs, gulping down the liquid. I found myself glad of the drink when Katniss rolled the body over, grappling with it in order to retrieve the bow and arrows slung across her back. She reeled backwards, her eyes wide and filled with terror. I knew the hallucinations must have begun. The screen briefly switched to show the dead tribute from District 4 before returning to Katniss' struggle with Glimmer's putrid body.

Finally, she managed to pull the bow and arrows free, but then Peeta came crashing through the trees. The spear in his hand almost fell to the ground when he caught sight of her.

"What are you still doing here? Are you mad? Get up! Get up!" When he started prodding her with the end of his spear, Katniss rose to her feet. She looked confused to see him pushing her, fighting to get her moving. "Run!" His screams seemed to have no effect. "Run!"

Fear gripped my heart as Cato lurched out of the trees as well, his eyes glinting malevolently as he caught sight of my daughter. Finally having the motivation she needed, Katniss turned and flew, tripping and falling often as the world likely span around her. Instead of following her progress, the screen continued to show Peeta and Cato.

"I should have known you'd help her," Cato snapped, whirling his sword at Peeta's head.

"Of course I want to help her, I love her," Peeta replied, ducking under the metal blade. "You seriously thought I'd work with you?"

"You've made a mistake today."

Cato grinned viciously before launching into a series of attacks that poor Peeta wasn't prepared for. Both of them had been stung, but whilst Peeta seemed to be beginning to feel the effects, Cato was able to ignore them. In a blur, Peeta fell, clutching his thigh in agony. Cato spat over Peeta then turned and went back the way he'd come, leaving Peeta to die.

Drama over, the cameras left Peeta, switching to Katniss collapsed and unconscious on the ground.

"Oh, no!" Prim whispered, fearing the worst.

I almost shrieked when someone landed next to Katniss, only their shoes visible after jumping down from a tree. But it was only Rue. She knelt beside Katniss, felt for a pulse and then hurried away. She soon returned with a handful of leaves, chewing them up and then applying them to Katniss' stings. I sighed with relief. Someone was looking after her. Katniss would be okay.

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**Gale's POV**

Rue stayed with Katniss the first night, taking care of her, unlike Peeta. I wasn't sure I approved. Help always came with a cost. The question was, what would Rue want? Protection? I was sure Katniss could give her that, but what if it was something else? What if she was just tricking Katniss by helping her? What if she killed her in the night? It seemed far-fetched, I knew, but appearances were deceiving. You only had to look at Joanna Mason, winner of the Sixty Fifth Hunger Games, to prove that.

It turned out I was wrong.

Katniss survived the night, possibly due to Rue's early ministrations, or maybe simply because her stings weren't as severe as those of the career tributes.

But Rue had to leave her. She needed to find food for herself. Katniss woke up in the afternoon, whilst she was gone.

"Run now, Katniss," I mumbled under my breath as we ate a rabbit I'd shot early that morning. "While you still can…" Just looking at her, however, it was easy to tell she was in no condition to run. Whilst the sting on her cheek didn't look as bad as when she'd received it, it was by no means fully healed. Her bones clicked as she stretched her arms up, moving out of the foetal position she'd slept in.

But she didn't let it stop her. Like a true survivor, Katniss started with her water, sipping it slowly. Then it wasn't long before she was up and heading to the stream to bathe. Finally, she ate, munching on a cracker and the dried beef she found in her pack. After treating her burns and organising her pack she got moving.

I smiled at her progress, watching her trudge uphill whilst the career tributes continued to celebrate Peeta's 'death' for the second or third day running. I could barely remember. In District 12, the mood was sombre. Yes, we still had Katniss, but we were going to lose Peeta any day, we were sure. Everyone pitied him, but I found myself asking why he hadn't run with Katniss. He probably would have escaped Cato. A small part of me was glad he hadn't gone with Katniss. But mostly, I just felt bad for feeling that way.

Focusing on Katniss was the only thing that made me stop thinking about it. I was proud when she shot a turkey as well as she had ever done, the injuries she had sustained through the course of the Games barely affecting her.

The cameras in the arena somehow managed to pick up the sound of Rue snapping a twig. Katniss was on alert, an arrow nocked to her bow within a second, her sights trained on the spot the noise had come from. I'd noticed before that Katniss seemed to have superior hearing, able to tell exactly where a deer was from the slightest rustle of leaves, and in the Games she was no different. She _knew _where Rue was just from the sound of the twig getting crushed under her boot.

"You know, they're not the only ones that can form alliances," she called out, waiting for Rue to appear.

I shook my head. She shouldn't do it. As if it wouldn't be hard enough to kill Rue, the youngest tribute, the tribute you couldn't help but love; Katniss had to ally herself to the slight girl from District 11 too. What would she do when they were the last two in the Games? If I knew Katniss, and I was sure I did, she wouldn't be able to do it. She wouldn't be able to kill Rue. She hadn't been able to let her sister compete in the Games – there was no way she could kill someone just as young.

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**Prim's POV**

Gale looked angry as Katniss and Rue shook on their alliance and shared the meal Katniss had gotten. Her trackerjacker stings were long forgotten, and Mother and I could breathe a sigh of relief.

Katniss had escaped the career tributes.

But what of Peeta? Was he still alive? In all the coverage whilst Katniss had been unconscious, hallucinating because of the trackerjacker poison, we'd 'seen' him a few times, though he never seemed to be in the camera shot. Yet, he had to be alive for there was no announcement of his death.

When Katniss let Rue eat her fill, I couldn't help but wonder what would have become of me if I'd ended up in the Games like Rue. I couldn't fly through the trees like her, I couldn't hunt like Katniss, so what would I have done? I saw myself in Rue though, as she said, "I've never had a whole leg to myself before," talking about the turkey-like bird Katniss had shot. I could remember the days after our father died and before Katniss had begun hunting. There had always been a constant, aching pang in my stomach. And even now when Katniss did hunt, I found myself sometimes wishing for just a little bit more.

All of a sudden, the screen switched and showed Thresh. For the most part, they'd been ignoring him. Away from the tributes, on the other side of the lake, he wasn't doing much and it was boring to watch him lie about all day.

"I bet they're talking about stuff the Capitol doesn't want people to hear," Gale said.

I nodded. That sounded like Katniss. She tended to ignore things that were tabooed. But Rue talking about it with her? That was a surprise, albeit I didn't really know the girl so who was I to judge?

Finally, the television showed Katniss and Rue again but it was almost night time. Whatever they were talking about was drowned out by the Capitol's anthem.

"I wonder what they were talking about…" Vick murmured, referring to the period when the Gamemakers had switched the video feed.

"I doubt we'll ever find out," his mother told him.

"Unless they show it tomorrow, or something," I added hopefully.

"Doubt it. They'll probably just continue where they left off," Gale said.

He was right. The footage did pick up with Katniss and Rue from the previous night.

Katniss pulled on a pair of glasses. The commentators were quick to point out that though they looked like sunglasses, they were in fact night vision goggles.

"I wonder who else has got a pair of these," Katniss muttered, looking idiotic with the glasses.

"The careers have got two pairs," Rue replied. "But they've got everything down by the lake. And they're so strong."

"We're strong too. Just in a different way," Katniss reminded her.

"You are. You can shoot. What can I do?"

"You can feed yourself. Can they?" Katniss asked, smiling as she began making her point.

"They don't need to. They have all those supplies."

"Say they didn't. Say the supplies were gone. How long would they last? I mean, it's the Hunger Games, right?"

"But, Katniss, they're not hungry," Rue insisted.

"No, they're not. That's the problem. I think we're going to have to fix that, Rue."

Whilst Katniss and Rue plotted, they switched back to showing the career tributes killing the boy from District 10, laughing as he tried to fight them off with his crippled foot. After toying with him for ten minutes, Clove finally ended it, slashing him across the neck. I had to turn away, the grim sight sickening me.

The footage stayed with the career tributes until Katniss began her assault on the career's supplies. For days we'd seen footage of Finch creeping through the mines and stealing a few bits of food, but Katniss looked surprised to see it. It didn't surprise me, however, to see Katniss succeed in blowing up the supplies. Once it was obvious what she was going to do, we all expected it. We knew her aim was good enough to release the apples – we'd seen her shoot much more difficult targets before.

But the tension was back when Katniss got stuck in the bushes once the career tributes returned. I covered my eyes, sure they would find her. They still had their night vision goggles, Cato turning them on. It would have been easy to see her.

The programme ended. We switched off the television and turned to face the camera crew that had been following us for weeks already.

They interviewed Mother first, asking her what she thought Katniss' odds were, about how different it was without her and then moved onto me.

"Are you proud of your sister?" the one holding the camera asked.

I nodded, feeling shy knowing that what I said would be broadcasted across the whole of Panem.

"If you could pass on a message to her, what would you say?"

"Stay strong and don't let go of your bow."

Muffled laughter filled the room. We all knew that Katniss wouldn't let the bow out of her sight. It had been a struggle to get it – she wouldn't let it go easily.

"What do you think her plan is now?" they asked Gale.

"Get away from the careers' base. Find Rue and keep hunting," he answered honestly, his voice gruff with annoyance. It was an obvious game plan. With three tributes still alive, Katniss wouldn't try and fight them. Even with her bow and arrow, it was just asking for death.

Finally, they left us alone for the evening.

Gale and his family left us much later than usual, promising to return as early as possible in the morning. The Hunger Games was normally something we wished we could avoid watching, but we didn't want to miss a moment that year. We didn't want to miss a moment of Katniss.

By the time Gale and his family did arrive (made late by Posey throwing a tantrum over them running out of honey for her to have with her bread), the viewing had already started. Katniss had escaped and was trying to find Rue. She kept pawing at her left ear. The commentators told us that experts believed she was suffering from a hearing impairment due to the explosion she caused.

Hearing or no hearing, there was no mistaking Rue's scream. My heart stopped. To keep the audience interested, the Gamemakers had continued to show Katniss searching for Rue, rather than show the girl herself. But they showed her then, tangled in a net on the ground, Marvel readying his spear to throw at her.

When the spear entered her body, I finally had the answer to my question. I knew what would have happened had I been in the Games. I would have died.

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**A/N: Thanks for reading. I'm sorry to say, I'm probably not going to update this story until Monday probably, as I've got work over the weekend. Let me know what you thought though. **

**Much love, SabreDae  
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	10. Changing the Rules

**A/N: You guys are seriously the best. I can't believe how many of you are reading, reviewing and following this story! I hope you like this chapter. I did it solely from Gale's POV, but the next few chapters will be from multiple POVs.  
**

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**Changing the Rules**

**Gale's POV**

I knew I had been right. Katniss' grief was plain to see. In just a day she had become indescribably close to the twelve year old and then she had to say goodbye. So she hadn't had to kill the girl from District 11 herself, but Rue had been murdered in front of her very eyes.

Marvel was dead before anyone could register that Katniss had shot him.

"Are there more? Are there more?" she yelled, probably expecting Cato and Clove to charge into the clearing. She didn't know like we did that the careers had long ago split up, arrogant enough to think that even individually they were unbeatable.

"No," Rue said feebly, repeating the word when Katniss didn't hear her.

Just looking at her, it was easy to tell she wasn't going to make it. The wound in her stomach was ugly, blood soaking through her clothes despite the fact that the spear was still inside her. For all my criticism of their alliance, I knew why Katniss had formed it. Rue was like Prim. They didn't look similar, but even I could see Prim in Rue. And though she was small, perhaps weak, Rue did have strengths.

"You blew up the food?"

Katniss nodded. "Every last bit."

"You have to win," Rue told Katniss, the second person to make her make that promise.

"I'm going to," Katniss swore. "Going to win for both of us now."

The cannon sounds for Marvel, still on the ground not far away with blood coating his neck from where he pulled out the arrow. Either death made people do stupid things, or he was an idiot. Everyone knew not to pull the weapon out of a wound, didn't they? It only sped death. Katniss left the spear in Rue. But perhaps it was buried too deep for her to tug it out without causing Rue excess pain. Or perhaps she didn't think there was any use removing it when she was going to die anyway.

"Don't go," Rue whispered, gripping Katniss' hand, her knuckles turning white with effort.

"Course not," Katniss replied with ragged breath. "Staying right here."

I could only imagine what she was feeling. Whilst my father was dead, he hadn't died in my arms. I never got to say goodbye, but Katniss was trying to comfort and soothe a dying girl. If I hadn't have known how strong she was, I'd have expected tears to be already streaming down her face.

When Rue asked her to sing, she did, choosing something we usually sang to babies in our district. The scene on the screen, Katniss holding Rue's head in her lap and stroking her hair down, singing her a lullaby to send her to eternal sleep, pulled on my heart. I was left choked up, unable to say something even if I had wanted to. Everyone in the room is equally quiet, Prim, Posey and our mothers sobbing, tissues being passed around.

Though Katniss had yet to release her tears, there was doubt that everyone watching would see her grief. She finished the song, only just, and was left with Rue's lifeless body.

The cannon for Rue fired, but Katniss did not move. Instinct taking over, she mechanically stood, seeming unaware of her actions, and searched the boy from District 1 for supplies she could use. I was proud of her for getting up and moving on, but I was wrong. She hadn't moved on, she hadn't forgotten. I was stupid to think she ever would.

Instead of leaving the clearing and letting the Gamemakers remove the bodies, Katniss gathered a posy of flowers and began decorating Rue's body with them, framing her face and hiding the wound.

Though the gesture is touching, I can't help but feel fear. I understood what she was doing. She was indirectly challenging the Capitol. She was showing the districts what the Capitol was: evil. I shared a worried look with Dahlia, she too picking up on the danger Katniss was putting herself in if she survived.

"Bye, Rue," Katniss mumbled, finally letting a tear slip from her eye. She pressed three fingers to her lips and offered them to Rue. I wondered at that moment, what Rue's family and district would be going through. If we, people from another district, people who didn't know her, had fallen in love with her, how much worse must it have been for them? I hated the Capitol more than ever then. As if it wasn't enough that they had taken the girl I loved, they murdered innocent children and got away with it. They cared nothing for the suffering of the people in the Seam or the other districts. The only ones who mattered were Districts 1, 2 and 4. But I also knew, no matter how long it took, they would pay. The Capitol would fall.

The next two days were normal. I found myself going back to school. Because I was Katniss' 'cousin' I had been excused from attending, just as Prim had, but with Katniss out of immediate danger, the careers seeming reluctant to search her out, I thought that Prim and Dahlia could go without me. I wanted the time to myself, my own thoughts.

I was back at the Everdeen's watching the evening showing when it happened. A blare of trumpets filled played from the TV. Each of the tributes, the screen split into six to show each of them, looked up in surprise, waiting for Claudius Templesmith's announcement. Peeta's screen still looks empty of him. Prim looks at us all in confusion.

"Congratulations on making it to the final six!"

Nobody is overjoyed to hear the news. They've all lost someone to get that far, be it a friend or a district partner or an ally.

When nobody moved or spoke, the announcement continued. "There has been a rule change. Investigation of the rulebook and history of the Games has found that if both tributes from the same district are the last two alive, they will both be declared victors." There was no doubt that this is in response to Peeta's declaration of love for Katniss.

Anger coursed through me. I could have gone after all. I could have been in the Games with Katniss. It would have been me telling the whole of Panem that I'd loved Katniss since I was fourteen; not Peeta. I would have allied with her and we would have been unstoppable. She wouldn't be in pain after losing Rue. Before I knew it, I was on my feet, my teeth gritted, my hands curled into balls.

"Gale-" Mother began, but I was already out the door and running away from the Seam. I was going to our place. Our special place where there would be nobody to hear me curse the cruelty of the world.

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**A/N: Let me know what you thought!**

**Thanks for reading!  
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**Much love, SabreDae  
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**xxxxxxxx  
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	11. Finding Peeta

**A/N: So the DVD was released in the UK yesterday! Who bought it?! My mother played a lovely trick on me, telling me she'd forgotten to buy it when she went shopping (and I'd texted her to make sure she didn't forget!) but she did get it really. Thanks go to Pika-Thunder, hungergamesfan1254, dovepatronus, Norbert's Mom, blue287, Aod4L, LittleMissJasperWhitlock and liu for reviewing the last chapter! Anyway, hope everyone has a Hunger Games day if you live in the UK and got the DVD. If you didn't, what are you waiting for? And also to everyone else, just have an awesome day!  
**

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**Finding Peeta**

**Dahlia's POV**

Katniss clapped her hands over her mouth, her eyes wide with the fear that someone had heard her shout Peeta's name. I wondered what had been going through her head when she called for him. Did she perhaps feel something for him? Doubtless they had at least become friends of some sort. District partners often knew each other before the Games started, but the process of sharing an apartment in the Capitol, journeying there together and going through training together usually ensured they had a more personal relationship. The thought that it was all to ensure a more exciting Hunger Games, however, was sickening.

Luckily for Katniss, though Finch had obviously heard her shout; she didn't move from her own hiding space. Thresh was much too far away to have heard it, but probably cursing his luck that Rue had died just that day. Cato and Clove looked up from their campfire, after sharing a grin. Katniss' shout however, had only reminded them that they weren't the only ones who benefitted from the rule change. It was night and it was clear from their conversations concerning Katniss, that they now knew she was more of a threat than they had suspected.

The day's viewing ended and as Gale's family showed themselves out, I couldn't help running through the day's events in my mind. Rue, that poor girl. I had no doubt that if Katniss returned to us, she would be different. She'd seen her friend murdered before her very eyes. And she would never forget it.

"Night, Mother," Prim murmured, rising and heading to the bedroom.

I nodded numbly, still staring at the dark television screen. I couldn't imagine how different things would be tomorrow. For sure, Katniss' first moves would be to find Peeta – I just hope she had more luck than us. We still hadn't managed to see him in the camera shots the Gamemakers gave us. But what about Cato and Clove? Surely they'd be looking for him too – killing Peeta would make it easier for them to win. And surely Thresh and Finch, the two tributes disadvantaged by the rule change, would want to even the odds.

Before I knew it, the first rays of sunshine were streaming through the kitchen window. Sighing with exhaustion, I pushed myself to my feet and started the day by going to milk Lady. The sky outside was streaked with a lovely shade of pink. I knew Prim would love it.

I was just thinking about waking her, when she said from behind me, "I didn't hear you come to bed last night."

"I slept on the sofa," I told her, doing my best to lie convincingly.

She scrutinised my face, liking seeing the dark circles around my eyes. "Let me." Nudging my hands away, she took over milking Lady, cooing to goat and smiling as, in return, Lady licked her arm.

With Lady being milked, I moved onto the next item on the agenda – feeding Buttercup. The cat purred as I stroked down his back and up his tail, eyeing the left over bird meat on the kitchen counter. I grabbed a few pieces and dropped them into the cat bowl before starting on a breakfast for Prim and me. We were running low on meat so I waited for the goat's milk to pour on top of the basic cereal we were able to buy in the town.

Vick and Rory entered as I was eating. Once she was done, Prim had returned to Lady to change the straw she used as bedding in the shed.

I smiled and asked, "Where's everyone else?"

"Gale's introducing Posey to Lady," Rory told me.

"Here's the fowl Gale shot this morning," Vick said, passing me two birds tied together on a string.

I was storing the two birds when Gale walked in with Hazelle and Posey, Prim entering behind them and closing the door.

"They're best fresh," Gale advised, nodding to the birds.

I nodded and washed my hands, Hazelle coming to talk with me. The Games that year had brought us closer. Hazelle told me Posey was already begging her for a goat of their own, and we both laughed, the sound feeling unnatural and strange. It was the first time I had laughed since the nightmare began. I almost felt guilty.

Prim turned the television on.

"I hope Cato and Clove don't try anything," she mumbled.

Gale squeezed her shoulder.

"Katniss will be fine," he told her. "She's much better than them."

I wished I had as much confidence as Gale did.

Whilst the Gamemakers recapped the previous day's events – though for what reason, I didn't see (viewing was mandatory, we had all seen it yesterday) – I stared out at the now blue sky, wondering if Katniss had seen the blazing sky as we had. Her shout for Peeta filled my ears again but I still didn't hear any new meaning in it. I still couldn't tell why she'd done it.

Finally, they got onto new footage and Prim towed me towards the couch, holding my hand even after we sat down.

I was shocked when it was revealed that Cato and Clove were so sure that Peeta was beyond saving that they were going to do nothing to prevent Katniss teaming up with him. I had expected them to be waiting for Katniss to arrive back at the stream, but there was no-one there when she got there. Perhaps Cato's assurance to Clove that Peeta would die soon was correct. When Katniss finally found him, it was obvious he was in a bad way.

His voice was barely audible.

I had no idea how he'd managed to paint himself into the rocks with his injured leg. I'd known as soon as Cato cut him that it was serious, too serious to be ignored. And the days of sitting with mud and moss covering it would have done it no good.

It was painful just watching Katniss trying to lug Peeta into the water. His screams of agony ripped through me. In my head, I was already composing a list of treatments, working out how I would help him. But I wasn't there. I couldn't telepathically pass the information to Katniss. I just hoped she knew enough of what to do from watching me treat patients in the house, though it was unlikely. She rarely stuck around long enough.

"Look, Peeta, I'm going to roll you into the stream. It's very shallow here, OK?" she told him.

"Excellent," he replied, doing his best to be positive for Katniss.

"On three. One, two, three!" She pushed, but he'd only finished one roll when they were forced to stop, the pain just too much. Not only did Peeta have a deep slash in his leg, he still had many trackerjacker stings too.

Katniss gave up on her plan to get him into the stream and began pouring water from her canteen over him, cleaning off the mud to reveal his dirty clothes. Once his top half was cleaned off, she removed the jacket and t-shirt he had been given, exposing his stings and untreated burns to the open air. Peeta winced as she began treating them, digging out the trackerjacker stings and applying the same leaves Rue had used on Katniss. The burn cream Katniss' sponsors had sent was lathered onto his chest, slowly healing his damaged skin.

My suspicions that Peeta was in grave danger were confirmed when Katniss dug out pills for treating fever and commanded he swallow them. Fever only ever set in near the end. Then Peeta refused food, another sign of approaching death.

Katniss bit her lip in worry, likely having worked that out herself.

"Can I sleep now, Katniss?" Peeta asked, his eyes already drifting closed.

"Soon," she told him. "I need to look at your leg first."

Her cheeks reddened as she removed his boots and socks and then inched down his trousers. Rory and Vick laughed at her embarrassment. Gale gritted his teeth and glared at the screen.

"Pretty awful, huh?" Peeta asked, staring at Katniss as she tried not to retch.

"So-so," she replied, not quite managing to pull off the air of nonchalance required to convince him that his injury was entirely treatable. "You should see some of the people they bring my mother from the mines."

"Clean it," Prim said.

Seconds later Katniss repeated the sentence almost like she'd heard Prim speaking.

Although cleaning it is necessary and the most important step in stopping infection, the wound looked no better afterwards. Katniss was at a loss for what to do. Finally, she decided to air it before applying the leaves Rue had given her.

"Katniss…how about that kiss?"

He only mouthed the words, but they still translated through the camera.

Gale crossed his arms and glared out the window even though Katniss didn't press her lips to Peeta's. She had laughed, dismissing the idea.

"Gale's jealous," Vick sang, laughing.

"Shut up!"

I smiled both at the two brothers and at Katniss. Katniss had laughed. Was she happy? It was easy to see that she liked Peeta. She might not have loved him or fancied him, but she got on with him. Even at home, Katniss didn't laugh very often.

Vick and Rory laughed harder when the undershorts debacle occurred, Katniss turning tomato red.

Peeta dozed whilst his clothes dried, leaving Katniss in silence. The Gamemakers then switched to show the progress of the other tributes. When they came back to Katniss and Peeta, she was waking him up.

"Peeta, we've got to go," she told him.

"Go? Go where?"

"Away from here. Downstream, maybe. Somewhere we can hide you until you're stronger." She helped him pull on his dried clothes and then pulled him upright. After regaining some of his colour, his face went white as a sheet the moment he put his weight on the injured leg. "Come on, you can do this," she encouraged, trying to motivate him as they began walking.

Katniss did most of the work, practically dragging Peeta through the stream.

In the end, she found a cave and helped him into it. As she settled him into her sleeping bag and moved away to hide the entrance to the cave, he called her.

She glanced back and went to him, brushing back his hair and feeling his temperature. I could tell from the slight frown on her forehead that it was still much too high despite the pills she was still giving him.

"Thanks for finding me," he told her.

"You would have found me if you could," she pointed out.

Seeing them together, I knew the audience in the Capitol and the other districts would be going crazy. Even if Katniss didn't love Peeta, she was acting like she cared deeply about him. Perhaps she did. I found myself wondering what would happen if Peeta did die. There wasn't much she could do to prevent it. How would she cope? Would it be worse than losing Rue? Worse than losing her father? I just hoped she didn't have to find out.

* * *

**Gale's POV**

My ego was in serious need of massaging. I'd stormed out the day before and that was only because they'd changed the rules. They were allowing for two victors – allowing for Katniss and Peeta to have a romance just to please the audience that couldn't get enough of 'the star-crossed lovers from District 12'. It was much worse watching Katniss find and treat Peeta. So much worse.

She wasn't acting like she loved him, but he was being shameless. Asking for kisses. I'd been best friends with Katniss for years and even I didn't take that liberty. I'd wanted to kiss her for years but still hadn't managed it. I should have just done it when we said goodbye in the Justice Building. I'd had nothing to lose, so why hadn't I?

The instant Katniss' lips touch his I was on my feet. He hadn't even initiated it – she had! The voice in my head cried out. There were no words; it was a primal scream of anger, of love, of sorrow.

It wasn't real. It couldn't be real. Katniss was supposed to want me.

For the second time in less than two days, I was running away. I'd been determined to keep my jealousy under wraps, but I hadn't managed it. As I ducked under the 'electric' fence, I told myself I had every right to feel the way I did. It was Katniss who was in the wrong. She had to know I loved her. It was obvious, wasn't it? I'd wanted to run away with her, hadn't I? I couldn't help but smile every time I saw her. I spent more time with her than with anyone else. I loved her.

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**A/N: I hope you guys liked this! Let me know what you thought!**

**Thanks for reading! Much love, SabreDae  
**

**xxxxxxx  
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	12. Owing Thresh

**A/N: Hey all! Sorry for the slight delay in posting this chapter. I'm a bit busy with university preparations at the moment. I hope you like this chapter.**

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**Owing Thresh**

**Prim's POV**

Katniss kept watch over Peeta all night, just as she used to with me when I was ill or had nightmares. Looking at them together, I was forced to revise my earlier evaluation of them. Despite not knowing each other, Katniss and Peeta looked right somehow. They were opposites, not just in their appearances and social background; but in their personalities too. Peeta's eternal optimism balanced out Katniss' more pessimistic nature. They complemented each other; there was no other description for it.

Still, whilst Peeta was sure of his feelings, Katniss couldn't quite keep her doubts hidden. It was obvious from the frequent glances in his direction that she felt something for him, but the biting of her lip, the reservations shown in her eyes showed that she couldn't work out whether he was a friend or something more.

Mother agreed with me, suggesting that perhaps Haymitch had told Katniss that being in love with Peeta would help her win. It seemed to make sense – the supposed romance had already led to the change in the rules that would allow both our tributes to come home.

I couldn't help liking Peeta as he insisted on Katniss taking a nap. He was telling the truth when he said she needed her rest. If Katniss was exhausted, she wouldn't be fighting fit should Cato and Clove decide to find her. She would not even be in any condition to properly care for Peeta. If Katniss was to come home, she had to take care of herself too. I liked him even more when he didn't wake her as early as she wanted to.

Shoving aside her frustration, Katniss began her ministrations over Peeta, feeling for his temperature and practically forcing him to drink the water he was supposed to have drunk whilst she slept.

Finally, she checked his leg. Unlike Katniss, my stomach didn't roll at the sight of the wound or the first signs of blood poisoning.

"Well, there's more swelling, but the pus is gone," Katniss told him, her voice wavering.

Mother tutted beside me. She never thought it was right to lie to a patient, even a dying one.

"I know what blood poisoning is, Katniss, even if my mother isn't a healer."

"You're just going to have to outlast the others, Peeta. They'll cure it back at the Capitol when we win."

For a moment, I thought that Peeta's positivity was wearing off on her, then I realised Katniss was just desperate. The _only_ way for Peeta to survive was for them to win.

"Yes, that's a good plan," he replied, trying to reassure her, still thinking of Katniss before himself.

"It's a good job Gale's not here," I muttered to Mother. "He wouldn't be able to stand watching this."

She nodded, though looking slightly worried. Gale and his family hadn't come over that morning but we didn't know why. I assumed it was because Gale couldn't stand to watch Katniss and Peeta. It wouldn't have surprised me if he hadn't come home the previous evening after running away again – at least that way he wouldn't have to watch the Hunger Games programming.

Katniss left the cave and began trying to cook something for Peeta. As she cooked, the commentators commended her on the ingenious method of using warm stones rather than lighting a fire.

"That's Katniss: ingenious."

Mother laughed slightly, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and hugging me.

As he waited for the food, Peeta asked for a story. Katniss told him about buying Lady, though her words passed straight through my ears as I was lost in the memory of her bringing home the half-dead goat with a pink bow tied around its neck.

I could still remember watching Mother treat Lady, mashing up the herbal remedy with a pestle and mortar for her and soothing Lady as Mother applied it. The memories were fresh, almost like it only happened yesterday.

By the end of the story, Katniss and Peeta were joking – a rare event in the Hunger Games.

"Really? What did you cost me again?" Katniss asked, grinning slyly.

"A lot of trouble," Peeta answered. "Don't worry. You'll get it all back."

They were interrupted by the trumpets signalling an announcement.

I turned to Mother, both of us looking at the other in a mixture of confusion and worry. It was the second announcement in days. There were never that many announcements throughout the whole Games let alone a few days. It was just unheard of.

My breath was caught in my throat as I waited for Claudius Templesmith to get on with the announcement. Relief spread through me as he told the tributes they had been extended an invitation to attend a feast held by the Gamemakers. It was an opportunity to get something that each of them needed: medicine for Peeta, food for Cato and Clove (since their supplies were gone and they had no idea how to hunt or what was safe to eat).

You could tell from the look of calculation on Katniss' face that she was going to go. She was just working out the logistics – how long it would take her to get to the Cornucopia, how much food to take, how to deal with the other tributes. Mother shook her head beside me, looking disappointed that Katniss was going to go. But I wanted her to get to the feast. It was the only way to help Peeta.

* * *

**Dahlia's POV**

I shook my head, hoping Katniss would decide against her plan to attend the feast. It was too dangerous, a trap to make things more exciting.

"No," Peeta said, clamping a hand on her shoulder. "You're not risking your life for me!"

"Who said I was?" Katniss asked, doing her best to look innocent.

"So you're not going?"

"Of course I'm not going. Give me some credit," she half-snapped at him. "Do you think I'm running into some free-for-all against Cato and Clove and Thresh? Don't be stupid."

It was moments like that that convinced me that Katniss hadn't fallen head-over-heels in love with Peeta. She treated him too much like she treated everyone else. I'd seen teenagers in love; I'd _been _one. I knew what they were like. And Katniss was far too miserable for that. I didn't doubt that she felt _something _for Peeta, I just knew that it wasn't as strong as what everybody else thought. I wondered how Gale couldn't see that. But perhaps he didn't know Katniss as well as we all thought.

"I'll let them fight it out," she continued, "We'll see who's in the sky tomorrow and work out a plan from there."

"You're such a bad liar, Katniss. I don't know how you've survived this long," Peeta replied, responding to her cutting tones with some force. Mimicking Katniss probably did nothing to convince her to stay though. "Never gamble at cards. You'll lose your last coin."

"All right, I am going and you can't stop me!"

"I can follow you," Peeta declared before adding as a second thought, "At least partway. I may not make it to the cornucopia, but if I'm yelling your name, I bet someone can find me. And then I'll be dead for sure." I was surprised neither of them were dead already – they were practically shouting, arguing as well as a married couple.

"You won't get a hundred metres from here on that leg," she countered.

"Then I'll drag myself. You go and I'm going too."

His stubbornness surprised me. I didn't think it was possible for someone to equal Katniss in that matter.

"Then what am I supposed to do?!" Katniss cried, finally letting out the emotions she'd been trying to keep in on his behalf. "Sit here and watch you die?"

"I won't die, I promise," he said quietly, forgetting his anger. "If you promise not to go."

"Then you have to do what I say. Drink your water, wake me up when I tell you to, and eat every bite of the soup, no matter how disgusting it is," she replied.

"Agreed. Is it ready?"

"Wait here." She stomped out of the cave and back to the soup she had left cooking. She sighed, trying to calm down and let go of her anger now that the argument was over. A grim smile of sorts settled over her face as she tests the soup.

My heart sank. She was still planning to go.

It was confirmed when the parachute landed beside Katniss, the commentators telling the audience that Katniss had been sent sleep syrup.

"Oh dear," Prim mumbled as Katniss realised what it was and what she had to do.

I silently agreed. Drugging and lying to Peeta wouldn't help. And it was wrong. I had never condoned lying, so why did Katniss think it was okay. I hoped she would realise her mistake before it was too late.

* * *

**Gale's POV**

I woke up in the woods, in our special place, of course. As soon as my eyes opened, I remembered why I was there, what I'd seen. Reluctantly, I dragged myself to my feet and wrapped my dew soaked jacket tighter around me to ward off the early morning chill. I didn't want to go home; I wanted to stay in the woods forever and forget about the Hunger Games, forget about Peeta, forget about Katniss and most importantly forget about the kiss. But I knew my mother would be worried so I put one foot in front of the other and made my way home.

I walked so slowly, trying to miss as much of the programming as was possible, that it was evening by the time I got home.

The instant I opened the door, Mother threw herself on me, practically screaming.

"I was so worried about you!" she exclaimed, slapping at the back of my head. She was relieved, not angry though. "Are you hungry?"

My stomach chose that moment to rumble loudly. I'd eaten a few berries whilst I walked through the woods, but that was it.

"Here, eat this," she said, handing me a slice of fresh bakery bread.

"Where did you get this?"

"Dahlia gave it to me early this morning – said that the baker had been round to see them and gave it to them," she shrugged.

"He just gave it to them? They didn't pay him?"

I did my best to contain my dislike of the Mellarks long enough to eat the bread. Mother would have been angry had I let it go to waste just because I was jealous of the baker's son.

Despite spending the day waiting for me, my family had turned on our old television set for the Games as they were required to by law. Predictably, Katniss and Peeta were the centre of attention, Katniss having just finished camouflaging the entrance to the cave before climbing into the sleeping bag with Peeta.

"Did I miss anything?" I ask, wanting to know if one of the other tributes has been killed.

Mother watched me closely and opened her mouth to speak but Rory beat her to it.

"Katniss drugged Peeta!" he told me excitably. "There's a feast and she's going so that she can get medicine for his leg!"

"What?!" I growled. "She's going? Is she mental?!"

"He needs medicine, Gale," Vick reminded me. "Or he'll die."

"So? She's going to risk her life for him?"

Mother slapped my arm. "Don't be so heartless," she scolded. "Think of Peeta's family – don't you think they want him to come home?"

I rolled my eyes. What did it matter to me? "But it's a death trap! Someone always dies in the feasts!"

"Well, Katniss won't," Vick said confidently. "She's got the bow now, remember?"

I scoffed and shook my head. None of them understood. It wasn't enough that Katniss had the bow and arrows. Clove had a whole collection of knives. Cato had his sword. They were all equally good with their weapons. What if Katniss got drawn into close range combat? Her bow would be no good to her then. I wanted to cut my heart out. I wanted to not care about her. That way, if she died, it wouldn't affect me.

That night, in my blankets on the floor, I tried it. I told myself that I didn't love her. I told myself that I didn't need her to survive. I spoke to myself all night long, but when I woke up the next day, she was still in my heart.

Watching Katniss prepare to leave for the feast was almost unbearable. Watching her kiss Peeta goodbye was insufferable. Only through power of will did I managed to stay. Mother shot me a sympathetic glance and squeezed my arm. I was glad at that point that we stayed at home again, that the cameras aren't there to film my reactions.

Whilst Katniss travelled through the woods, the Gamemakers switched to showing Finch camped out inside the cornucopia, Cato and Clove hiding in the bushes on the right of the golden horn and Thresh waiting somewhere nearby too.

After the table bearing the much needed gifts rose, Finch darted out from her hiding place, snatching her bag marked with the number five and legged it. Nobody moved to chase her. Katniss cursed her, probably regretting not coming up with that idea herself. With not much other choice, Katniss began sprinting. One of Clove's knives came whistling at her, but she saw it and deflected it with her bow.

"Stay alert," I told her, knowing that the arrow Katniss had sent into Clove's left arm won't prevent her from throwing another knife. I winced as the knife glanced off Katniss' forehead, cutting her above the eye.

"Run."

She was too busy reeling from the hit to run, believing the arrow she had let loose had hit Clove. But it hadn't. Katniss had missed and Clove was running towards her, armed to the nines with knives.

The girl from District 2 plowed into Katniss, knocking her flat. Katniss struggled, but Clove had pinned her to the ground, straddling her shoulders. It was no use. She couldn't use her bow, she couldn't reach the knife she'd tucked into her belt. She couldn't even move.

"Where's your boyfriend, District 12? Still hanging on?"

"He's out there now. Hunting Cato," Katniss replied just as nastily, pushing up body up, desperately trying to dislodge her opponent. "Peeta!"

Katniss choked as Clove's fist closed around her throat, cutting off her voice. A satisfied grin spread over Katniss' face as Clove searched for Peeta, believing the lie for a few moments.

"Liar," she said when nobody ran to save Katniss. "He's nearly dead. Cato knows where he cut him. You've probably got him strapped up in some tree while you try to keep his heart going. What's in the pretty little backpack? That medicine for Lover Boy? Too bad he'll never get it," Clove laughed, drawing a curved knife from her jacket. "I promised Cato if he let me have you I'd give the audience a good show."

"Do something, Katniss," I begged.

She redoubled her efforts to remove Clove, but she was bigger, heavier than Katniss.

"Forget it, District 12. We're going to kill you like we killed your little ally…what was her name? The one who hopped around in the trees? Rue? Well, first Rue, then you and then I think we'll just let nature take care of Lover Boy. How does that sound? Now, where to start?" Clove asks hypothetically, tracing the point of the knife down one of Katniss' arms and over her stomach, trying to decide where to cut her first. She grabbed Katniss' face. "I think…I think we'll start with your mouth."

Katniss' eyes closed, though I doubt it was from fear. When they opened, she continued to glare at Clove in fury.

"Yes, I don't think you'll have much use for your lips anymore. Want to blow Lover Boy one last kiss?"

Katniss spat at her in answer.

"All right, then. Let's get started."

Before Clove could wreak any damage, she was yanked from Katniss by Thresh. He held her in the air like she weighed nothing.

"What do you do to that little girl?" he shouted, shaking Clove for answers. "You kill her?"

"No! No, it wasn't me!" Clove yelled frantically.

"You said her name. I heard you. You kill her? You cut her like you were going to cut up this girl here?"

"No! No, I-Cato! Cato!"

"Clove!" Cato shouted back from somewhere. The cameras didn't show him, focusing on the drama in front of the cornucopia. He would have been too late to help anyway. Thresh whacked a rock against Clove's skull, killing her instantly. He dropped her lifeless body before turning to Katniss.

"What'd she mean? About Rue being your ally?" Thresh demanded, looming over Katniss with the rock. To the side, Clove moaned, not as dead as I thought.

"I-I-" Katniss stuttered. "We teamed up. Blew up the supplies. I tried to save her, I did. But he got there first. District 1.

"And you killed him?"

"Yes. I killed him. And buried her in flowers. And sang her to sleep," she replied, her eyes watering at the memory of Rue's death.

"To sleep?"

"To death. I sang until she died. Your district…they sent me bread. Do it fast, okay, Thresh?" I gulped at the thought that she was ready to die.

Thresh stared at her, his anger fading and confusing taking over. Finally he lowered the rock. "Just this one time, I let you go. For the little girl. You and me, we're even then. No more owed. You understand?"

Katniss nodded, looking grateful.

"Clove!" Cato shouted, much closer.

"You better run now, Fire Girl," Thresh told her.

His words stirring her to action, Katniss pushed herself up and began running, repeatedly wiping away the blood running down her forehead and into her eye. Somehow, though she couldn't see properly, Katniss made it back to the cave, dashing through the hole she'd left when camouflaging it. Her breath rattled as she dug the needle out of the backpack and jammed it into Peeta's arm before collapsing and passing out.

If Peeta survived, he would not only owe Katniss his life, but Thresh too. If Katniss came home, I would owe Thresh too.

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**A/N: Thanks for reading! Leave a review to let me know what you thought if you've got time. **

**Much love, SabreDae  
**

**xxxxxxx  
**


	13. Symmetry and Irony

**A/N: Okay, I'm really sorry for how late this chapter is. But the good news is that there's only a few chapters left of this story and I should be able to write them and get them all up before the weekend. I'll let you read the chapter in a second, I just want to really quickly thank all of you for your amazing response to this story.  
**

* * *

**Symmetry and Irony  
**

**Dahlia's POV**

I didn't remember breathing through Katniss' encounter with Clove and Thresh. My heart didn't start beating again until she was back in the cave and I looked down at my clenched hands to find my fingernails had broken the skin of my palms during my anxiety. But the ordeal wasn't over. She was injured too – a nasty gash above her eye. If it wasn't treated, she could get an infection as severe as Peeta's.

If I'd been there, I'd have scolded her. She was meant to survive the Games and come home; not get herself wounded. Already she'd lost a fountain of blood, the amount pumping from the wound doubling worryingly as she lost consciousness and fell to the cave floor.

Predictably the footage of Katniss and Peeta ended there, done purposefully to create tension and suspense, to leave us wanting of information, to ensure that anyone who would have dared to not watch the mandatory viewing tuned in the next day.

Prim's fingers squeezed mine. I didn't even know when we'd begun holding hands.

"Peeta will help her," she said with conviction. "He won't let her die."

I nodded, but I couldn't help doubting the ability of a boy who was still sick and in medically induced sleep to help my daughter.

I prayed that the Gamemakers would switch back to Peeta and Katniss, but they stuck with Cato moodily heading back to his camp alone, swinging his sword at everything in his path, though the plants couldn't fight back. For the first time in the Games, Katniss and Peeta weren't the centre of attention.

The rest of the day we were forced to watch Cato, Thresh and Finch.

I suspected that by the time the programme ended, my blood pressure had gone through the roof with anxiety. Saying goodnight to Prim, I knew I wouldn't be sleeping that night. I knew heart palpitations would keep me awake if I even tried closing my eyes.

As I sat on the couch, I found my eyes drawn to the old photo of Horne on the day of our toasting. The hired suit was tattered from years of use, but in my eyes he looked every bit as dignified as a wealthy, merchant class suitor.

He'd always been determined to do right by me. He'd worked in the mines since he was seventeen, wrangling a position so he could save enough money to ask my father for my hand in marriage. The thought brought a sad smile to my face. He'd given up everything for us, Katniss, Prim and I. Just like Katniss. I missed having my true reminder of my husband around. I missed Katniss.

Eventually, I drifted to sleep on the couch, only waking as someone knocked on the front door hours after the sun had risen.

"Oh!" I exclaimed, getting needlessly to my feet as Prim opened the door for Gale and his family. "I overslept. There's so much I need to do-"

"-It's all already done," Prim told me gently. "I milked Lady, made breakfast and I've even run a bath for you – though that was an hour ago now so the water's probably cold."

"You should have woken me," I tutted.

"You need your sleep, Mom."

Since Prim had apparently done my morning chores, I hurried to the tub of lukewarm water Prim had prepared and washed as quickly as I could. They would have to show Katniss and Peeta and I didn't want to miss a second of it. Already I could hear the beginning of the Capitol anthem playing out of the television speakers. After towelling my hair dry, I pulled a comb through it, trying not to tug out any more of my wispy hair.

I was right to have hurried. The instant I sat down, Katniss' sleeping face filled the screen. Despite the bandage wrapped around her head, she looked at peace, smiling at something as Peeta ran his fingers through her hair.

"Katniss? Katniss can you hear me?"

Her eyes snapped open in alarm before she relaxed as she realised where she was and who she was with. "Peeta."

"Hey," he mumbled. "Good to see your eyes open again."

She groaned. "How long have I been out?"

"Not sure. I woke up yesterday evening and you were lying next to me in a very scary pool of blood," Peeta told her. "I think it's stopped finally, but I wouldn't sit up or anything."

My heart warmed as Peeta held a canteen of water to Katniss lips and helped her drink.

"You're better," she said simply.

"Much better," he corrected. "Whatever you shot into my arm did the trick. By this morning almost all the swelling in my leg was gone."

"Did you eat?"

For a moment Peeta looked guilty, his eyes seeking forgiveness as he admitted, "I'm sorry to say I gobbled down three pieces of that groosling before I realised it might have to last a while. Don't worry, I'm back on a strict diet."

"Idiot," Gale cursed. "Now there's nothing for Katniss."

"Easy, Gale," Hazelle cautioned, nodding at the cameraman stationed at one of the kitchen counters. "Peeta's not from the Seam. He doesn't understand about rationing."

"I'm sure Katniss will be able to go hunting soon," Rory reminded him.

Gale harrumphed slightly. "He still shouldn't have eaten all the food."

As Gale bickered with his family, I couldn't help wondering how differently things might have turned out had Gale been reaped with Katniss. They would have teamed up instantly, I was sure. The pair of them would have been unstoppable, both as good as the other at hunting and surviving. Cato would have been no match for them. Gale was just as in love with Katniss as Peeta was, that much was obvious just from listening to him ranting and raving about how Peeta was endangering Katniss and holding her back.

As the days of Katniss and Peeta's partnership went on, he continued to moan about him being a nuisance to her, focusing on how he couldn't even help her hunt because he was still suffering with his leg. The criticisms didn't stop there. Peeta was also a coward, according to Gale, because he wouldn't go and explore the part of the arena Thresh had commandeered as his own.

* * *

**Prim's POV**

"I'm just saying she'd be better off on her own," Gale said.

"Gale, enough!" Rory replied with exasperation. "You've said the same thing ten times already!"

I thought perhaps Gale was being too hard on Peeta. We couldn't all be brave hunters. We needed people like Peeta too. Gentle, caring people. What kind of place would Panem be if we were all like Katniss and Gale? There would be no doctors, no friendship.

Perhaps Gale was wrong. Perhaps Peeta's care would help Katniss, just as Rue had by treating her trackerjacker stings. Most of Gale's opinions on Peeta were formed from his jealousy, but I liked Peeta.

I thought back to the night Peeta had told Katniss when he'd first fallen for her.

"Peeta?" Katniss murmured, calling his attention. "You said at the interview you'd had a crush on me for ever. When did for ever start?"

"Oh, let's see. I guess the first day of school. We were five. You had on a red plaid dress and you hair…it was in two braids instead of one. My father pointed you out when we were waiting to line up."

"Your father? Why?"

"He said, 'See that little girl? I wanted to marry her mother but she ran off with a coal miner.'"

"What?" Katniss exclaimed. "You're making that up!" Light laughter bubbled out of her. But as I looked at our mother, I knew it was true. Her eyes were glazed with reminiscence – an usual event. Mother didn't like to remember what had been. Too many of her memories were filled with father.

For a moment, I couldn't help comparing Katniss with our mother. Both of them had two boys who liked them. Mother had Father and Mr Mellark and Katniss had Peeta and Gale. The symmetry of it was something ironic. Whilst Mother had chosen Father I wondered who Katniss had chosen. It looked like Peeta, but if she came home it could end differently. With Gale things would be easy. They knew each other as well as a diary knew its owner. Gale was already a part of our family. It was the choice I thought Katniss would make.

Looking back at the television, I saw Peeta as he continued the story. "And I said, 'A coal miner? Why would she want a coal miner if she could've had you?' And he said, 'Because when he sings…even the birds stop to listen.'"

Katniss nodded. "That's true. They do. I mean, they did."

I knew it was true. Everyone told me that my dad was a singer. But I could barely remember what he looked like let alone how he sang.

"So that day, in music assembly, the teacher asked who knew the valley song. Your hand shot straight up in the air. She stood you on a stool and had you sing for us. And I swear, every bird outside the window fell silent."

"Oh, please," Katniss said, laughing it off.

* * *

**Gale's POV**

Nobody listened when I said Peeta was a nuisance to Katniss.

But I knew I was right before they even left the cave and went hunting. Thresh may have been gone, leaving just Finch and Cato to think about but there was no way Peeta was prepared for hunting. He didn't know the secrets of the trade.

It was obvious from his first steps that he didn't even know how to move silently. I could almost hear the birds flying away in fright, the rabbits lolloping off after his warning.

In the end, after trying unsuccessfully to train Peeta, they were forced to split up so Katniss could actually get them some food.

The camera stayed on Katniss carefully moving about the woods, strategically placing one foot in front of the other at a measured pace, her eyes keen in their search for prey, easily finding two rabbits and a squirrel – all three animals shot cleanly through the head.

After seeing some of her progress, the Gamemakers switch to Peeta picking berries, unaware of Finch tracking and following him. I knew I'd have heard her. Probably the reason Peeta didn't was because of his loud footsteps, the slight hum he sang as he walked and the music of the stream flowing past him. A trained hunter, someone like Katniss or me would have tuned out the stream and we wouldn't have been stupid enough to make other noise in the first place.

"That looks like nightlock Peeta's gathering," one of the commentators announced.

"Nightlock?" Posey asked.

"They're poisonous," Dahlia told her.

Suddenly Katniss came running into the camera shot, shouting at the top of her lungs for Peeta without a thought for who might overhear her. At the sound of her voice, Peeta ran, only just managing to dodge her arrow. Shame.

"What are you doing?" Katniss demanded. "You're supposed to be hear not running around in the woods!"

"I found some berries by the stream," Peeta replied, his voice filled with confusion.

"I whistled. Why didn't you whistle back?"

"I didn't hear. The water's too loud, I guess."

"I thought Cato killed you!" she exclaimed.

"No, I'm fine," he assured her. "Katniss?"

"If two people agree on a signal, they stay in range. Because if one of them doesn't answer, they're in trouble, all right?"

"All right!"

"All right. Because that's what happened with Rue, and I watched her die!"

That was the problem with alliances in the Games. You got too close to people.

"And you ate without me!" Katniss snapped, catching sight of their food whilst grabbing a water canteen.

"What? No I didn't," Peeta professed, raising his hands in a gesture of innocence.

"Oh, and I suppose the apples ate the cheese," she replied sarcastically.

Vick and Rory chuckled but it was no laughing matter.

"I don't know what ate the cheese," Peeta told her, beginning to lose his temper. "But it wasn't me. I've been down by the stream collecting berries. Would you care for some?"

In my head I was yelling at her, shouting for her not to touch the deadly berries.

As the cannon fired, Katniss whipped round to look at Peeta, but he was still stood there though a little confused as to her panic.

I was shocked by his naivety as Finch's body was lifted out of the arena. Why was it so hard t believe he'd killed someone? Katniss had killed people, Clove and Cato had killed people. In fact Peeta had killed the girl from District 8 on the first night, or did he not think that counted because he was only pretending to be part of the career pack? He was a complete hypocrite.

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**A/N: I hope you guys liked this chapter. Thanks so much for reading. I'd love to know what you thought, so leave a review if you've got time! **

**Much love, SabreDae **

**xxxxxxxx  
**


	14. Not Over Yet

**A/N: Thanks go to ETNRL4L, liu, Norbert's Mom, Fanficfanny, Pika-Thunder, hungergamesfan1254, blue287 for reviewing recently! I'm just going to shut up and let you read now. **

* * *

**Not Over Yet  
**

**Gale's POV**

Nothing happened for a day or so after Finch had died. The programme was so devoid of action and excitement that it was almost like watching one of the old reality TV shows from before Panem in the school library. Almost; were it not for the continued tension springing from the fact that it was down to the final three tributes and sooner or later, there would be a confrontation.

Katniss and Peeta seemed to ignore that fact as much as possible, carrying on in what had become a routine. One of them sleeping while the other kept watch, dividing some of what they had hunted and eating it.

Finally, though, the Gamemakers decided to end it. The stream outside the cave had run dry. The ponds were similarly empty of water.

"They're driving us to the lake," Katniss needlessly confirmed after checking the nearest pond.

But when they arrived at the lake, Cato was not there. As an audience member, I was well aware of the fact that Cato had headed into the woods to seek them out. But in the arena, Katniss and Peeta weren't. After searching in vain for their opponent, they waited him out sat in front of the lake in full view, talking idly about District 12 and what it would be like when they got home.

I already knew that should they defeat Cato they would have a welcome home unlike any other. The whole district wanted to meet them at the train station, though it was restricted to just family members and Capitol reporters. The rest of the district was going to have to settle for a celebration in the square. Then the next day, Katniss and Peeta would move into their houses in the Victor's Village. The next month would be documented by Capitol cameras.

Whilst they talked, Katniss hummed and whistled the four note tune Rue had taught her. Peeta marvelled as the mockingjays in the arena took up the melody. But their smiles soon faded.

Just as it was getting dark, Cato bolted out of the trees and ran towards them. Katniss was on her feet in an instant, an arrow loaded and let loose in another, though it rebounded harmlessly off Cato's chest.

"He's got some kind of body armour!" Katniss shouted, bracing herself for the moment he crashed into her.

But he just ran past.

Prim looked at me in confusion, her mouth opening to ask a question about why Cato hadn't attacked or what he was playing at. But before she even uttered a word, it soon became clear that Cato hadn't been hunting Katniss and Peeta. He'd been running in fear from a muttation.

A strangled scream came from Prim.

Posey turned and hid her face, shaking in my arms.

Vick and Rory went pale at the sight of the thing.

Mother shuddered.

And Dahlia…she stared with wide eyes at the wolfish creatures.

* * *

**Prim's POV**

How Katniss wasn't frozen in fear, I never knew. The sight of the massive muttations would have turned my legs to jelly. Peeta seemed to be as stuck as I would have been for a moment, before jolting into action and turning tail, running with a limp after Katniss.

But the thing about the muttations was just that. They were muttations. They were not normal wolves. The commentators blathered on about what the Gamemakers had done to create them, but I didn't hear it. I was focused on the fact that though they ran on all four legs, the wolves were perfectly capable of standing on two legs and could make hand gestures as easily as a human could.

That wasn't all I noticed.

It was Rory who voiced what I had been thinking in my head. "Damn, those things are fast," he whispered in horror.

For every stride Peeta took, they seemed to take four. They were gaining on him. It was as simple as that.

Katniss reached the cornucopia, Cato already safely on top of it. Just as she stared to climb, she looked back at Peeta.

"Go, Katniss! Go!" He couldn't see behind him, but he must have known they were closing in on him.

"Oh no." My hands came up to my mouth. It had been going so well for the two of them, they'd been so confident but in that moment it looked like everything was going wrong. There didn't seem to be any way Peeta would be able to make it to the cornucopia and climb up it before the muttations caught him.

My attention flashed back to the images on screen as Katniss' shout for Peeta to climb reached me.

Finally on top of the horn, Katniss shot an arrow into the muttations, taking one down. Its metallic claws flashed silver in the fading sunlight as they cut into the flesh of the mutts on either side of it.

"That's disgusting," Vick muttered, looking a tinge green.

"What?" I asked.

"The commentators just pointed out that the muttations have been engineered to resemble the fallen tributes," Gale explained, his mouth set in a grim line and his nose wrinkled.

A wave of revulsion washed over me and I had to swallow the rising bile in my throat. The next time I looked at the screen, I immediately noticed the largest, darkest mutt, Thresh, rearing as Peeta reached the cornucopia and Katniss helped haul him up. Katniss had just let go of Peeta's hand when she realised the mutts represented the dead tributes, seeing Glimmer. She shrieked and reflexively fired an arrow at the District 1 mutt.

"Katniss?"

"It's her!"

"Who?" Peeta asked, desperately shaking her arm for her attention as she surveyed the other mutts, recognising Rue, Finch, all of them. "What is it, Katniss?"

"It's them. It's all of them. The others. Rue and Foxface and…all of the other tributes."

"What did they do to them?" he gasped. "You don't think…those could be their real eyes?"

The thought hadn't even entered my mind. Renewed disgust made me close my eyes, but the vision of Glimmer's mutt's hauntingly green eyes is burned into my eyelids and I soon opened them again.

Before Katniss could answer, a mutt managed to grab hold of Peeta's leg in its mouth. His cry of pain jerked Katniss from whatever she was thinking about.

"Kill it, Peeta! Kill it!" she yelped, doing her best to keep them both from being dragged over the side of the cornucopia. Peeta stabbed wildly with his knife before finally finding muttation flesh. The jaws locked around his leg released, and Katniss pulled him back onto the top of the golden horn.

They finally moved towards Cato and away from the danger they were faced by the mutts, the boy from District 1 on higher ground than they were.

Whilst Katniss was distracted with the mutt that resembled Thresh jumping six feet into the air, Cato got to his feet and yanked Peeta away, putting him in a headlock.

Before anyone could speak, Katniss had an arrow aimed at Cato's head. But he just laughed. "Shoot me and he goes down with me."

Nobody spoke. Peeta and Katniss both knew he was right. But Katniss didn't lower her bow and arrow or give in. It was trained on his head until Peeta drew a cross, an x, on the back of Cato's hand in his own blood. X marks the spot. The second Katniss' arrow pierced his hand and caused it to jerk away, Peeta threw his weight back against him, sending Cato tumbling off the cornucopia and into the muttations below. Snarls and screams reverberated out of the television's speakers.

"They've done it," I whispered in relief as Katniss and Peeta stood atop the cornucopia. "They've won." But the cannon didn't fire and the programme didn't end. Despite the fact it had long ago gotten dark both in the arena and in District 12, the cameras kept rolling, showing the mutts slowly but surely ripping and biting Cato to shreds.

* * *

**Dahlia's POV**

Something was wrong and it wasn't just that Peeta's leg was bleeding heavily. Katniss tied a tourniquet around it though with her shirt and her last arrow. The two of them were probably freezing to death on top of the cornucopia, but it was impossible to tell. The Gamemakers continued to show Cato's torturous death instead of focusing on the two victors.

Gale shielded Posey's eyes, so she didn't have to watch the hours of gruesome injuries. Even in the moonlight, the spurts and pools of blood were still all too visible. Eventually, Vick and Posey fell asleep but the rest of us were forced to watch until it was all over, whenever that would be.

It was Katniss who ended it, thankfully, shooting Cato with her last arrow.

But that was when the relief ended.

"Then we won," Peeta said upon the firing of the last cannon of the 74th Hunger Games. But nothing happened.

"Hey! What's going on?" Katniss shouted.

"Maybe it's the body. Maybe we have to move away from it," he suggested.

"OK. Think you could make it to the lake?"

"Think I better try," he responded, forcing himself to his feet and hobbling to the tail end of the cornucopia and inching down it. The pair of them made it to the lake, drinking water as the body was lifted away, but still the Games were not over.

"What are they waiting for?" Peeta complained weakly. In daylight it was easy to see the dark stain of blood down his leg.

"I don't know."

Even the commentators didn't answer the question for the viewers. The feeling of foreboding I'd been having flared up again, doubling in intensity.

Finally, something happened: Claudius Templsmith's voice boomed across the arena.

"Greetings to the final contestants of the seventy fourth Hunger Games. The earlier revision has been revoked. Closer examination of the rule book has disclosed that only one winner may be allowed. Good luck and may the odds be ever in your favour."

Prim choked in surprise.

My heart sank. It was exactly the kind of trick I'd been half-expecting. Of course the Capitol wouldn't allow two victors. And what crueller punishment for the districts was there than forcing two district partners, two friends, two lovers to kill one another.

"If you think about it, it's not that surprising," Peeta said finally.

As he dropped his knife into the lake, surrendering his only weapon, Katniss' aim locked onto his heart, before she realised he wasn't going to attack her and lowered her bow.

"No, do it," he told her.

"I can't." His eyes pleaded with her. "I won't," she said emphatically.

"Do it. Before they send those mutts back or something. I don't want to die like Cato."

"Then you shoot me," Katniss replied angrily in response to the begging tone his voice had taken on. "You shoot me and then go home and live with it!"

"You know I can't. Fine, I'll go first anyway," Peeta declared, ripping his bandage away.

"No, you can't kill yourself," she cried, ducking down and re-tying the tourniquet.

"Katniss, it's what I want."

"You're not leaving me here alone."

"Listen, we both know they have to have a victor. It can only be one of us. Please, take it. For me," he begged. Katniss fumbled for the pouch of nightlock on her belt, but Peeta caught her wrist. "No, I won't let you."

"Trust me," she whispered, glancing around for cameras or something. After staring into her arms for a few moments, he released his grip, allowing her to let some of the dangerous berries to roll into his palm. After getting herself a handful, she asked, "On the count of three?"

"The count of three," Peeta agreed after a kiss. As an afterthought he added, "Hold them out. I want everyone to see."

Standing back to back, they clasped their free hands together. "One, two, three!"

Before she could regret it, Katniss threw the berries into her mouth.

"No!" Gale shouted, waking his sleeping brother and sister.

Prim had bucket-loads of tears trickling down her face, as they had been since the announcement.

Suddenly the trumpets blared and Claudius Templesmith shouted frantically, "Stop! Stop! Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to present the victors of the seventy fourth Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark! I give you – the tributes of District 12!"

The berries flew from Katniss' mouth as Prim gave a relieved shriek, throwing herself into my arms. Vick and Rory danced around the room, Posey and Hazelle laughing at them. Gale allowed himself a reluctant grin, before lifting Posey into the air and dancing around the room with her.

"Katniss is coming home," they chanted.

Only I didn't celebrate. Whilst my heart beat happily for my daughter's homecoming, my lungs still held the deep sense of foreboding and I knew it wasn't over.

* * *

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed the chapter. I apologise for the rushed ending – I'm in a hurry to update as I'm heading out to the cinema to see Brave with my Granny (she wants to see it because she's Scottish but doesn't want to be the only person above the age of ten in the cinema). I'd love to hear what you guys think. Plus what do you think the homecoming in two chapters time will be like?!**

**Thanks for reading! Much love, SabreDae**

**xxxxxxxx**


	15. Different

**A/N: Okay, so it's a bit short and only two POVs but I figured it was better to get something up rather than nothing. I hope you like the chapter. Let me know what you think!  
**

* * *

**Different**

**Prim's POV**

I was positively beaming by the time the anthem blared out the speakers and Caesar Flickerman greeted the audience in the Capitol. Just the thought of seeing Katniss again after so much time since the end of the Games had me bouncing in my seat.

"Prim," Mother cautioned as the side of the couch she was sat on jostled beneath her.

I stopped bouncing and mumbled an apology, causing one of the Capitol cameramen that was still following us around to chuckle.

The prep teams were the first to be introduced, jumping up and down more ecstatically than I had been as the audience applauded them. Then Effie, as effervescent in her wardrobe choices as ever, stepped out smiling and waving at the audience, though her eyes didn't seem to hold the same excitement as the six prep team members already standing to the side of the stage. The roar of noise for Cinna and Portia was incredible.

But none of those people mattered to us.

Haymitch took his place, the minutes of stomping finally fading away, though he probably deserved it for much longer. I didn't think I'd ever know how he'd done it, how he'd kept my sister _and _Peeta alive, but I owed him my thanks for it.

Thanks were forgotten when Katniss and Peeta rose through the stage floor on plates much like the ones that carried them into the arena. They had barely stopped moving when Katniss threw herself at Peeta and kisses him senseless. Across the room, the deep breath Gale takes was still audible over the sound of rapturous applause and screams and shouts coming from the television. The audience went crazy, mindless with emotion. I wondered what was going through Mother's head. So far, she hadn't once smiled – not even when Katniss appeared. If anything, she looked anxious. Her mouth was so firmly set into a thin line that she had to have locked her jaw in place and be gritting her teeth.

For a moment I even wondered whether she was angry with Katniss, before dismissing the idea. How could she be angry when Katniss was alive?

I couldn't help but laugh as Caesar attempted to interrupt Peeta and Katniss to start the interview, only to be pushed away by Peeta.

"It looks like he's eating her face," Gale groaned, turning away in disgust. "Can someone just stop them already?"

Finally, Gale's wish was granted, Haymitch stepped forward and jokingly pushed our victors towards the couch set up for them. As they separated their lips, Gale relaxed in his chair.

"Oh, honestly," Gale moaned, earning him a look of warning from Hazelle. "But, she's practically sat on him," he complained in an undertone. "I don't get it; she never sits that close to _anyone_."

But I thought it was cute the way she was cuddled into his side, resting her head on Peeta's shoulder. Instinctively, he wrapped his arm around her, the two of them reminding me of how I had often imagined my parents when they were young. Seated like that, it looked like they were the epitome of love.

**Gale's POV**

My stomach churned at the sight of Katniss snuggled up to Peeta. What I would have given to be in his position, to have the girl I'd loved for years making eyes at me, to be the recipient of her returned love. Before the Hunger Games, I'd had no idea whether Katniss liked me as more than a friend – I'd hoped she did – but afterwards it was obvious that she didn't want me; she wanted Peeta.

Strangely, the replay of the Games condescend into three hours, didn't focus as much as usual on the violence and deaths. Instead, it centred around Katniss and Peeta, their story. For the first time, Katniss saw Peeta trying to mislead the Careers and protect her, staying awake the entire night whilst she was stuck in the tree.

Upon revision, I was forced to grudgingly admit that perhaps Peeta wasn't a coward afterall. Watching it all the way from the beginning again, stopping living in the moment of it, I realised something. Katniss hadn't been desperately in love with Peeta until the rule change, until she needed him…

"She's faking it," I mumbled under my breath, realisation crashing down around me. I couldn't believe I hadn't seen it before. Relief flooded through me. Katniss hadn't chosen Peeta over me! I still had a chance!

After working out that Katniss' feelings for Peeta weren't as genuine as had first seemed, everything she did seemed so forced, so not her.

I was so happy with the revelation that by the time the film had ended, I was grinning from ear to ear. Mother and Vick both looked at me like I had finally lost it and been driven mad by unrequited love. But I couldn't correct them, not until the cameramen had gone anyway.

By the time we got back to the house, they'd forgotten all about it anyway, distracted as we were by the sounds of celebration still going on in District 12. The Seam was jubilant, loud music drifting from seemingly every house.

"What do you think they'll talk about in the interviews tomorrow?" Posey asked, shielding a yawn with the back of her hand.

"You'll just have to wait and find out," Mother told her, tapping her nose. "Now off to bed."

She grumbled along the way, grudgingly going to the bedroom and clambering onto the bed, though the instant she closed her eyes, she was off, snoring softly and sleeping in her clothes.

Following her example, I grabbed a blanket from the cupboard and tried to get comfortable on the floor. My mind was a bit overactive, wondering what it would be like when Katniss got back, but eventually sleep overcame me.

The next morning the interviews began. With the horror of the Games over, it is safe to gather in the Square to watch with the town and feel the sense of communal happiness throughout the district. As she had the night previously, Katniss cuddled up to Peeta whilst Caesar asked them questions.

I knew my assumptions that Katniss wasn't fully invested in the relationship with Peeta were true, when Caesar asked her when she first started falling for him and she couldn't even give him an answer. The whole romance was contrived and engineered around them, driven simply by Peeta's feelings for her. It was like Katniss didn't have to do anything. I didn't think anyone else would notice, but it was easy for me to see her trying to calculate answers to questions before she spoke. The only thing that felt real was when she pulled up his trouser leg to see the prosthetic limb he'd been given as a replacement. Then again that was probably because as she said, no-one had told her.

My brow was furrowed as I noticed the people around me actually buying into the romance, tearing up and talking about how 'sweet' it all was and 'what a good couple they made.'

Shaking my head, I wondered again what would happen when Katniss returned. Would she be forced to continue living the lie? Or would I get my shot with her? The only thing I knew was that things were sure to be different.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who has been reading, reviewing, following this story and adding it to their favourites. It really means a lot. Seriously.**

**Much love, SabreDae  
**

**xxxxxxxx  
**


	16. Coming Home

**A/N: Hey everyone! So here's the penultimate chapter. I'm doing an epilogue chapter of sorts, set a few weeks after the end of the Games, but more importantly, I hope you enjoy this chapter. **

* * *

**Coming Home**

**Prim's POV**

"Sorry, I'm late!" Gale called, pushing through the Capitol reporting teams to get to us. "I got held up at the mines," he explained, out of breath from running all the way to the train station.

Hazelle smoothed out his shirt collar and brushed off the coal dust as best she could. "It's alright, you haven't missed anything yet."

"So, how was your first shift?" Vick asked. "What did you do?"

Gale shrugged. "I guess you could say it was like walking into a dark mine with only a flashlight, some tools and a helmet. What do you think I did, Vick?" We all knew what the mines were like. Accidents were frequent. And if you were lucky enough to survive not getting crushed to death, chances were you'd develop breathing problems, coal dust clogging up the airways.

"Gale!" Hazelle scolded, though, shooting worried looks at the reporters and hoping they hadn't caught what he'd said on camera. He was only joking around, but sometimes Gale was just to blunt with what he said.

"Sorry," he muttered, hanging his head, though with Posey's resulting giggle, I was sure he had at least rolled his eyes at her.

One of Peeta's brothers standing a little way away on the platform smirked, earning him a swatting around the back of the head from his mother. Rubbing the spot, he shot his mother a dirty look and complained. Hazelle and my own mother meanwhile looked on in disapproval. I couldn't remember a time when my mother had hit Katniss or me. Hazelle didn't use physical punishment either, only occasionally lightly slapping Gale's arm if he messed around too much.

The train rushed towards us, creating so much noise that neither of them could have protested at the violence even if they had wanted to.

I caught Gale's eye and beamed at him, forgetting all about the fact that I probably had at least ten cameras trained on me in that moment.

Glancing to my other side, I smiled at my mother too.

"Excited?" Rory asked, peering around Gale to talk to me.

"Just a tad," I laughed. Nobody else seemed to express the same level of exultancy as me, though. I knew something had been bothering Mother since Katniss and Peeta were pronounced the victors of the Seventy Fourth Hunger Games but she wouldn't tell me what it was. Every time I asked, she just pretended I was imagining things.

It felt like an age before the train finally actually stopped and the door opened, Katniss and Peeta stepping down together with interlinked hands.

I was barely aware of moving. All I knew was that I was suddenly right in front of Katniss, hugging her tightly, feeling both of her arms behind my back and hearing her laugh in my ear.

"I've missed you, Prim," she whispered just for me. "I can't believe you won."

"Well, I promised you, didn't I?"

* * *

**Gale's POV**

As the train pulled into the station, incrementally slowing down, I looked around me yet again. Again, we were surrounded by cameras, the Capitol reporters and cameramen. On either side of us there was a sea of painted skin in every lurid shade you could think of, wigs that contrasted horribly with them and eyelashes the length of my fingers. I didn't think I'd ever understand the Capitol fashion fads.

At least they weren't crowding us. I knew I should be thankful for the small mercy that we, the families, were able to stand at the front of the platform to greet Katniss and Peeta the instant they dismounted the train. But I couldn't help feeling apprehensive about the fact that every second of it would be recorded and broadcast live through the whole of Panem.

Prim smiled eagerly up at me before turning back to look at the train, anticipating the moment Katniss stepped down.

Whilst it was obvious Prim was on cloud nine, I didn't know whether I was happy that she was coming home or despondent over the fact that despite the fact she was returning, everything had changed. Already I had started working in the mines, doing my first shift only that morning, and that meant no longer would I be able to meet her on Sunday mornings to go hunting. I didn't even know if she would carry on hunting – it wasn't like she needed the food. As a victor she was richer than everybody else in the district.

When Katniss arrived on the platform, I couldn't help double-taking. She was holding hands with Peeta. I had thought that once they arrived in District 12, they'd drop the act. With hindsight I was naïve to think Katniss would ever be able to stop being one half of the 'star-crossed lovers of District 12'. Every year when she was required to go to the Capitol as a mentor, she'd be forced to continue the façade. As long as there was a Capitol camera around she would have to be in love with Peeta. If she married, it would have to be Peeta; not me.

Prim charged forwards and flung herself at Katniss. Peeta smiled at the pair of the hugging before limping over to his own family to greet them. From the corner of my eye I saw his brothers slapping him on the back, before focusing on Katniss again as she looked up at us, making eye contact with me for the first time.

Just from her eyes, I could tell that she was in turmoil. I dithered, unsure of whether I should go to her or not. The whole thing was just awkward. There would have been no problem if it had been just the two of us in the woods, but we weren't and I couldn't ignore the presence of the tens of onlookers.

Instead of hugging her, I shot her the biggest smile I could manage, though I could feel that it didn't give me dimples or reach my eyes, as she walked with Prim to greet the rest of us.

* * *

**Dahlia's POV**

My anxiety over the berry incident hadn't died down since it had happened. If anything, I felt worse knowing that whatever revenge the Capitol was going to take had yet to happen.

Katniss approached softly with Prim. My heart leapt at the sight of her looking so whole and well. All the injuries she'd sustained in the arena had disappeared, leaving her skin unblemished. Not wanting to ruin Katniss' day, I pushed aside the worry I felt.

"Mom," she greeted. I had thought that was it, a nod of the head and a small smile. I thought that was all I was getting from her, but she surprised me, hesitantly walking into the arms I'd opened for her. It had been a long time since she'd willingly hugged me.

"Katniss," I whispered.

"Yeah, it's me," she replied, just as quietly.

As we drew apart, she gave me another half-smile, our relationship still not fully mended but getting there. I would work at it. With her home and alive after everything in the Capitol and the threat I could feel hanging over us; I would try harder to reconnect with her.

"Hey, Posey," Katniss said, turning to Gale's sister. "You've grown! Look at you!"

Posey grinned and hugged her leg.

Gale chuckled and ducked down to lift his sister away and place her on his shoulders, raising his eyebrows at Katniss and giving her a wry, apologetic grin.

"Hey, Catnip."

Any tension between seemed to evaporate.

"Gale," she smiled, giving him a friendly hug.

"Well, hadn't you better introduce us, Katniss?" Peeta asked, approaching with his family behind him.

She smiled brightly and took his hand again.

* * *

**A/N: I really hope you liked this. I'd love to hear some thoughts if you've got time to leave a review. Thanks for reading!**

**Much love, SabreDae**

**xxxxxx  
**


	17. Aftermath

**A/N: So here it is: the epilogue. I just want to take a moment to do some thanking of people…**

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**And finally to everyone else who has read In District 12. Thank you. I hope you enjoy this last chapter. **

* * *

**Aftermath**

**Dahlia's POV**

The cameras were gone and the reporters back in the Capitol where they belonged but nothing had returned to normal.

It had been two weeks, just two weeks since Katniss and Peeta had returned to District 12. And yet it barely felt like she'd been home a day. With the combination of school and continued hunting, Katniss was barely in the house she'd been given in the Victor's Village. But they were just excuses; we all knew she hated the new house.

Her dislike of the house wasn't the only reason Katniss was never around, though. Not only was she avoiding the house, she was avoiding Peeta. I wasn't clued in on all the details but I knew enough to know that Katniss' fabricated romance just for the audience hadn't sat well with Peeta. She needn't have worried about bumping into him. From what I could tell, he seemed to be trying just as hard as her to eschew the Victor's Village, spending hours in his family bakery.

Where she went though, God only knew.

I didn't just worry about what Katniss was doing and where she was, I was concerned over her mental welfare too. Every night without fail, I'd hear her whimpering in her sleep, occasionally crying out. Nightmares hit her relentlessly. They were the Games' legacy. Though the walls were thicker than those of our old house in the Seam, I could hear the sheets rustling as she tossed and turned, plagued by nightmares. If her dreams were anything to go by, the Games had yet to relax their grip on her. But we didn't talk about it. I knew from experience that though it was healthy to air problems, to talk about them, Katniss would prefer to keep them inside and suffer in silence. Every morning, she'd shrug it off and pretend she was fine, though I always thought her eyes held too much hollowness.

I felt like things would never return to the way they were before the Reaping.

Gale and Katniss had been thick as thieves, but now they never even saw each other. They blames conflicting schedules with Gale stuck in the mines and Katniss back in school, but we all knew they didn't know how to act around each other. They were stuck somewhere between friendship and something more, but unable to move past the barrier Peeta had created. It was sad really. The only friend Katniss had now was Madge, the Mayor's daughter.

The only thing that seemed to have stayed the same was the dead relationship I shared with Katniss. As soon as the cameras had been packed up and the reporters left, her walls had gone back up, though I knew she was trying to let me in. That was the important thing, I thought. That we were trying – all of us – to overcome the aftermath of the Games.

* * *

**A/N: I'd really love some last reviews to let me know what you guys thought of this chapter. **

**I've been asked a few times whether I'm going to continue and take this story into the events of Catching Fire and Mockingjay…at the moment the answer to that question is no. But it is not a definitive 'no'. I have another story that someone asked me to write for the Harry Potter fandom, so I shall be focusing on that for a while. But I may come back to this story afterwards and write a version of Catching Fire from Prim, Gale and Dahlia's POVs. So, if you'd be interested in reading that, I'd advise you to either alert the story (if you already haven't) or alert me – though I will most likely just add the chapters onto this story rather than start a new one. **

**Anyway, thanks again for reading and taking this journey with me. **

**Much love, SabreDae**

**xxxxxxxxx**


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